Kaweah Delta Earns National Orthopedic Surgery Excellence Award For Second Year
VISALIA – For its performance of clinical outcomes, patient safety
and experience, Kaweah Delta Medical Center has earned Healthgrades’
orthopedic surgery excellence award for the second year in a row.
Kaweah Delta is one of only 140 hospitals in the country to receive the
Healthgrades’ Orthopedic Surgery Excellence Award. In addition to
this achievement Kaweah Delta Medical Center has been a five-star recipient
for total knee replacement for 10 Years in a Row (2007-2016) and is a
top performer as one of America's 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery™.
The awards come from Healthgrades, an independent online resource that
evaluates hospital performance at nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide for
33 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions, among them
orthopedic surgery. Using three years of Medicare patient data, Heathgrades
uses a risk-adjusted statistical model to consider the acuity of patients
and assign a star rating based strictly on clinical outcomes. These ratings
are a mark of high clinical quality, meaning patients have fewer complications
and better than expected outcomes.
“We have invested in our orthopedic program for this community. We’re
glad our patients are experiencing great outcomes from orthopedic surgeries,
including hip and knee replacement, at Kaweah Delta,” said Lindsay
Mann, Chief Executive Officer of Kaweah Delta Medical Center.
Kaweah Delta is also recognized by Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California
as Centers for Excellence for hip and knee joint replacement surgeries.
Kaweah Delta invests in its orthopedic program by recruiting orthopedic
surgeons to the area. Most recently, Dr. Jason Mihalcin was recruited
to the area last year and began practicing general orthopedics in Visalia.
On Aug. 15, the district will welcome Dr. Seth Criner, an orthopedic traumatologist,
said Jag Batth, Director of Orthopedic Services at Kaweah Delta.
“This is a first to be able to offer people who have suffered orthopedic
traumas with specialized care in this community. With more orthopedic
surgeons in the community, people are getting specialized care faster,”
Batth said.
There are eight orthopedic surgeons practicing at Kaweah Delta: Ian C.
Duncan, M.D., Frank L. Feng, D.O., Bruce N. Le, D.O., Donald R. Schengel,
M.D., James R. Guadagni, M.D., Jason Mihalcin, D.O., Burton L. Redd, M.D.,
and David Surdyka, M.D.
For more information on Kaweah Delta's orthopedic program, visit KaweahDelta.org/ortho.