Citing clinical expertise and excellent quality of care, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey has named Cooper University Hospital a Blue Distinction® Center for two specialties: Knee and Hip Replacement and Spine Surgery.
Blue Distinction® is a designation awarded by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies to medical facilities that have demonstrated expertise in delivering quality healthcare. The designation is based on rigorous, evidence-based, objective selection criteria established in collaboration with expert physicians’ and medical organizations’ recommendations. Its goal is to help consumers find quality specialty care on a consistent basis, while enabling and encouraging healthcare professionals to improve the overall quality and delivery of care nationwide.
“We’re proud that Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey recognizes the superior care provided at Cooper,” said Carolyn E. Bekes, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Cooper University Hospital. “This achievement is a tribute to the extraordinary team of physicians, nurses, technicians and therapists who have helped develop our comprehensive programs in Joint Replacement and Spine Surgery. Their clinical expertise and ability to coordinate services have resulted in better outcomes and more positive experiences for our patients.”
Cooper is currently the only hospital in New Jersey that has achieved a Blue Distinction® designation in Spine Surgery. The program is overseen by both the Cooper Neurological Institute and the Cooper Bone & Joint Institute. Only one other hospital statewide shares the Blue Distinction® designation for Knee and Hip Replacement with Cooper. Criteria for being selected include having a collaborative, comprehensive, multidisciplinary program; performing required annual volumes for certain procedures; documentation of patient care and follow-up procedures; and surgeon experience.
Cooper’s Spine Program is directed by orthopaedist David H. Clements, M.D., and neurosurgeon Steven S. Yocom, D.O. Also participating are Alan R. Turtz, M.D., Sarah I. Woodrow, M.D., and Jonathan D. Bussey, D.O. Using the latest surgical techniques, the Spine Surgery team at Cooper provides a variety of minimally-invasive treatments including lumbar disc surgery, image-guided pedicle screw placement in order to correct spine dysfunction or instability, and balloon kyphoplasty for vertebral compression fractures caused by osteoporosis.
Knee and Hip Replacement Surgery at Cooper, a program of the Cooper Bone and Joint Institute, is renowned for producing outstanding clinical and patient satisfaction results. Its clinical team, led by Eric L. Hume, M.D., and Dino Nicol E. DeJesus, D.O., provides a full-service approach, designed to return patients to maximum function as quickly and safely as possible. In addition, Cooper is the only center in South Jersey that regularly uses computer-assisted knee replacement technology, which enables surgeons to precisely align knee replacements.