CDH Named Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement

NORTHAMPTON — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) has designated Cooley Dickinson Hospital as a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement. The distinction is part of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Assoc.’s expansion of its Blue Distinction designation.

“Achieving this designation means Cooley Dickinson’s Joint Replacement Center has met objective, best-practice criteria for knee and hip replacement,” says Carol Smith, chief operating officer. “For our patients, this designation reinforces Cooley Dickinson’s commitment to a high-quality, coordinated program with outcomes that are among the best in the nation.”

Cooley Dickinson Hospital is one of several Massachusetts facilities that have achieved the Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement. It is anticipated that 21 facilities will be designated by the end of March.

Part of the hospital’s Center for Human Motion, the Joint Replacement Center offers a unique approach to joint-replacement surgery, recovery, and rehabilitation. Patients have access to board-certified and fellowship-trained surgeons who offer comprehensive joint-replacement surgical care. Following surgery, patients recover in a dedicated unit for joint-replacement patients that includes personalized nursing care, private rooms, and access to extensive physical and occupational therapy in the unit’s rehabilitation gym. Compared to other hospitals in the nation, Cooley Dickinson’s Joint Replacement Center consistently scores in the top 10{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5}.

“Improving quality of care is integral to transforming the health care system,” said Dr. John Fallon, chief physician executive at BCBSMA. “Facilities like Cooley Dickinson Hospital are helping Massachusetts achieve this by ensuring patients receive the safest, most effective specialty care.”

Blue Distinction puts a high value on research and evidence-based health and medical information,” said Dr. Allan Korn, chief medical officer for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Assoc. “Blue Distinction Centers show our commitment to working with doctors and hospitals in communities across the country to identify leading institutions that meet clinically validated quality standards and deliver better overall outcomes in patient care.”

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 Knee and Hip Replacement, Cooley Dickinson Hospital met the following criteria:

• An 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; and
• Shared decision-making and preoperative patient education.