Baptist Health Paducah earned highest quality ranking in heart bypass surgery

PADUCAH, KY (May 8, 2025) — For the fourth year running, Baptist Health Paducah has earned a distinguished three-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for its patient care and outcomes in isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures. The three-star rating places Baptist Health Paducah among the elite for heart bypass surgery in the United States and Canada.

This three-star distinction denotes the highest category of quality and further validates our cardiothoracic program's commitment to providing our community with superior quality care right here at home. The STS recognizes Baptist Health Paducah for its exemplary performances in open heart surgery outcomes and process metrics.

“Once again, Baptist Health Paducah has demonstrated its commitment to be the regional leader in quality and outcomes for cardiac surgery,” said Craig Beavers, Baptist Health Paducah Vice President of Operations. “We are focused on providing top quality care and being transparent with the quality of care as exemplified by our 3-star status the last 4 cycles.”

“Why trust your heart anywhere else?” added Beavers.

Approximately 20% of participants receive a three-star rating for isolated CABG surgery. The latest analysis of data for CABG surgery covers a 3-year period, from July 2021 to July 2024.

The STS star rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in health care, rating the benchmarked outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery programs across the United States and Canada. The star rating is calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database participant.

“The Society of Thoracic Surgeons congratulates Baptist Health Paducah and other STS National Database participants who have received three-star ratings,” said David M. Shahian, MD, chair of the Task Force on Quality Measurement. "Participation in the Database and public reporting demonstrates a commitment to quality improvement in health care delivery and helps provide patients and their families with meaningful information to help them make informed decisions about health care.”

Baptist Health Paducah is a proven leader in heart care since performing the region’s first open-heart surgery in 1985. The tradition continues, becoming the first and only hospital in the region to earn HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence, the highest honor from the American College of Cardiology. The Structural heart team at Baptist Health Paducah performs innovative procedures including the minimally invasive valve replacement procedure (TAVR), WATCHMAN FLX™ and MitraClip™.

For more information on the heart care at Baptist Health Paducah, visit Heart Care - Baptist Health.