NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts has designated Cooley Dickinson Hospital as a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement. 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.

"Achieving this designation means Cooley Dickinson's Joint Replacement Center has met objective, best-practice criteria for knee and hip replacement," says Carol M. Smith, RN, 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 facilities that has achieved the Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement in Massachusetts. It is anticipated that 21 facilities will be designated by the end of March 2010.

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 percent.

"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 Allan Korn, MD, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Chief Medical Officer. "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:

• 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.

More information on selection criteria is available at www.bcbs.com:

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 Knee and Hip Replacement designation 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.

About Cooley Dickinson Hospital
Serving communities in Western Massachusetts, Cooley Dickinson features centers of excellence in such specialties as orthopedics, cardiovascular care, cancer care and minimally invasive surgery. A staff of 1800 professionals and 400 affiliated physicians comprise an integrated network of emergency, surgical, clinical, rehabilitative, hospice and home care expertise that treats 40,000 emergency patients per year, delivers 800 babies, and collaborates with the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center to deliver comprehensive cancer care. Cooley Dickinson's vision is to be the nation's premier not-for-profit community hospital, able to provide local access to the most advanced clinical treatments in a caring and neighborly setting. Nationally recognized for effective, innovative attention to patient safety, Cooley Dickinson Hospital meets the highest standards of bringing medical advances to local communities by truly providing excellence next door. For more information call the Center for Human Motion at (877) 582-3009 or visit www.cooley-dickinson.org.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (www.bluecrossma.com) was founded 73 years ago by a group of community-minded business leaders. Today, headquartered in Boston, BCBSMA provides coverage to nearly 3 million members, 2.5 million in Massachusetts. BCBSMA believes in rewarding doctors and hospitals for delivering safe and effective care, and in empowering patients to take more responsibility, become educated health care consumers and become stronger partners with their doctors. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross 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.