Geisinger hospitals recognized for cardiac care

DANVILLE, Pa. – Highmark Blue Shield has recognized three Geisinger hospitals as Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated providers that show expertise in delivering improved patient safety and better health outcomes based on objective measures that were developed with input from the medical community and leading accreditation and quality organizations. 

The Geisinger hospitals recognized are:

• Geisinger Wyoming Valley, Wilkes-Barre (Blue Distinction Center+)
• Geisinger Medical Center, Danville (Blue Distinction Center)

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally and is expected to claim more than 23.6 million lives annually by 2030. Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care seek to empower patients with the knowledge and tools to find quality cardiac care. To receive a Blue Distinction Centers designation, hospitals must demonstrate expertise in delivering safe and effective cardiac care, focusing on cardiac valve surgery, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), and percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) episodes of care. 

“Being designated as Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care recognizes that our hospitals are among the top tier in heart care,” said cardiothoracic surgeon Alfred Casale, M.D., associate chief medical officer for Geisinger and chair of the Geisinger Heart Institute. “Our heart experts work as a team to provide the best possible patient outcomes, and it is certainly gratifying to be recognized for our efforts.”

“The Blue Distinction program gives Highmark Blue Shield members the ability to choose their providers based upon reliable quality and safety information. It also provides a pathway for exceptional Providers to demonstrate their value, and delivers the kind of transparency necessary for members to make informed value-driven healthcare decisions. We congratulate our Blue Distinction Specialty Care Providers on their accomplishment and thank our members for choosing Highmark Blue Shield,” said Dr. Charles DeShazer, senior vice president and chief medical officer, Highmark Health Plan.

Hospitals recognized with this designation are assessed using a combination of quality information supplied by hospitals and third party data registries, and cost measures derived from Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies’ medical claims. 

Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality specialty care in the areas of bariatric surgery, cancer care, cardiac care, cellular immunotherapy, fertility care, gene therapy, knee and hip replacements, maternity care, spine surgery, and transplants, while encouraging health care professionals to improve the care they deliver. Research shows that compared to other providers, those designated as Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients. 

For more information about the program and for a complete listing of the designated providers, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction. 

About Highmark Blue Shield 
Highmark Inc., doing business as Highmark Blue Shield, serves approximately 1.3 million members through the company’s health care benefits business and hundreds of thousands of additional individuals through the BlueCard® program. Highmark Blue Shield significantly leads its competitors in commercial market share, with strong Medicare Advantage market share [through certain of its affiliated Blue companies] as well. Through its affiliated Blue companies, Highmark is the largest and highest-rated Medicare Advantage program in Pennsylvania, and all of Highmark’s Medicare Advantage plans have received a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services STARS quality rating of 4+ out of 5.0 STARS. Highmark Blue Shield employs approximately 4,000 people in central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley. Highmark Blue Shield is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. For more information, visit www.highmark.com.

All trademarks listed above are the property of their respective owners and used for identification purposes only,  and are in no way associated or affiliated with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Use of these trademarks does not imply endorsement.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association 
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through Blue Cross Blue Shield, The Health of America Report® series and the national BCBS Health Index℠. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit BCBS.com. We also encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube and follow us on Twitter.

About Blue Distinction Centers 
Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for providers located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable healthcare. Each provider’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Providers in CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA may lie in two Local Blue Plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on www.bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for non-covered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.

About Geisinger
Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the non-profit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 134 care sites - including 10 hospital campuses, and Geisinger Health Plan, with 600,000 members in commercial and government plans. The Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,600 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $14 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country.  Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.