Blue Distinction

Contact: Kayci Prince
469.814.2109
kaycipri@baylorhealth.edu 

Susan Hall
214.820.1817
susanh@baylorhealth.edu 

BAYLOR REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER AT PLANO HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AS A BLUE DISTINCTION CENTER FOR SPINE SURGERY^SM AND A BLUE DISTINCTION CENTER FOR KNEE AND HIP REPLACEMENT^SM 

(PLANO, TX – March 23, 2010) Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas has designated Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano as a Blue Distinction Center for Spine Surgery and a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement.  Blue Distinction Centers for Spine Surgery and Blue Distinction Centers for Knee and Hip Replacement are part of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association’s expansion of its Blue Distinction^® designation. 

“We are pleased to have received this recognition from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas as we seek to provide quality spine and knee and hip replacement services to the members of our community,” said Jerri Garison, president, Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano.  

Baylor Plano offers comprehensive spine surgery and knee and hip replacement services, including care for scoliosis and advanced spinal deformities at the Baylor Scoliosis Center. The Baylor Scoliosis Center is a national referral center located on the campuses of Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano and Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth and focuses on the care of adolescent and adult scoliosis. It is the first Center of its kind in the Dallas/Fort Worth area devoted to treatment, surgery and care of advanced spinal curvature.  The center provides care to people living with the pain and disfigurement of scoliosis – even those who were previously told their condition was untreatable.  

“Blue Distinction Centers show our commitment to working with doctors and hospitals in communities across the state to identify leading institutions that deliver better overall outcomes in patient care,” says Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, vice president and chief medical officer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.  "With the number of patients undergoing surgeries and hospitalizations for spine, knee and hip conditions growing dramatically, it becomes increasingly important to help these patients and their physicians identify facilities that have experience in comprehensive care with the best outcomes in these areas, including post operative rehabilitation.” 

The selection criteria used to evaluate facilities were developed with input from a panel of expert physicians.  To be designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Spine Surgery and a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement, the following types of criteria were evaluated.  More information on selection criteria is available on www.bcbs.com: 

• Established acute care inpatient facility, including intensive care, emergency care, and a full range of patient support services with full accreditation by a CMS-deemed national accreditation organization
• Experience and training of program surgeons, including case volume
• Quality management programs, including surgical checklists as well as tracking and evaluation of clinical outcomes and process of care
• Multi-disciplinary clinical pathways and teams to coordinate and streamline care, including transitions of care
• Shared decision making and preoperative patient education  

The Blue Distinction designation is awarded by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies to medical facilities that have demonstrated expertise in delivering quality healthcare in the areas of bariatric surgery, cardiac care, complex and rare cancers, knee and hip replacement, spine surgery and transplants. The program is part of The Blues^® efforts to collaborate with physicians and medical facilities to improve the overall quality and safety of specialty care. 

The additional Blue Distinction Centers for Spine Surgery and Blue Distinction Centers for Knee and Hip Replacement designations will bring the nation’s number of Blue Distinction designations to more than 1,600—and this number is expected to increase in the coming years.  

Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano is a 112-bed acute care hospital committed to serving North Texas residents with personalized care and advanced technology on a beautiful campus with hotel-like amenities and all private rooms. Services at the not-for-profit, fully-accredited facility include treatment for advanced spine deformities at the Baylor Scoliosis Center, neurosciences, orthopaedics, medical and radiation oncology, surgical weight loss, women’s services, gynecology, urology, gastroenterology, pulmonary medicine, sleep disorders, pain management, diabetes management and more. Patients have access to digital imaging onsite at Baylor Plano and at the Baylor Diagnostic Imaging Center at Craig Ranch, an outpatient department of Baylor Plano. The hospital is the first in North Dallas and Collin County to offer minimally invasive robotic surgery for gynecology and prostate procedures through the FDA-approved da Vinci® S Surgical System.  The hospital has won several quality awards including the Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Award of Excellence and is designated a Pathway to Excellence™ hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.  Jerri Garison is president of Baylor Plano. For fiscal year 2008, Baylor Health Care System reported $429.5 million* in community benefit, which includes providing care for charity patients and patients enrolled in government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the unreimbursed costs of medical education, research and community programs. For more information, visit www.baylorhealth.com/Plano. 

*Represents preliminary information that will be reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services.  

Physicians are members of the medical staff at one of Baylor Health Care System¹s subsidiary, community or affiliated medical centers and are neither employees nor agents of those medical centers, Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano or Baylor Health Care System.  

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas -- the only statewide, customer-owned health insurer in Texas – is the largest provider of health benefits in the state, working with nearly 40,000 physicians and 400 hospitals to serve over 4.5 million members in all 254 counties.  Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is a Division of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), the country’s largest customer-owned health insurer and fourth largest health insurer overall.  HCSC is a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. 

Note: Designation as Blue Distinction Centers means these facilities’ overall experience and aggregate data met objective criteria established in collaboration with expert clinicians’ and leading professional organizations’ recommendations. Individual outcomes may vary. To find out which services are covered under your policy at any facilities, please call your local Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield Plan.