Clinical Quality Report
Providing Quality Heart Care
The Society of Thoracic Surgery (STS) is a not-for-profit educational
organization dedicated to saving and extending the lives
of patients undergoing open-heart surgery in hospitals across
the country. STS represents more than 5,000 surgeons worldwide
who provide heart, lung, esophageal, and other surgical procedures
of the chest. By collecting this data into national databases,
physicians are able to use the information to improve the
care of their patients undergoing open-heart surgery.
Participation
in the STS database helps us to define the health risks of
patient undergoing open-hear surgery at WMMC compared to
other hospitals. Overall, we have made improvements in post-operative
care, length of stay, intubation rates, nursing care in CV/DOU
and ICU, and home care education. We also made improvements
in the deep sternal wound infection rates of open-heart surgery
patients. These improvements have resulted in a higher survival
rate (actual versus expected mortality rate).
For more information on STS, visit www.sts.org.
