Mercy Medical Center Redding Earns Blue Distinction® Center for Quality in Spine Surgery

REDDING, Calif. – Blue Shield of California has selected Mercy Medical Center Redding as a Blue Distinction Center for Spine Surgery, as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Blue Distinction Centers® are nationally designated health care facilities that show a commitment to delivering high-quality patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the medical community and leading accreditation and quality organizations.

Spinal surgeries are one of the most frequent types of elective surgeries in the U.S. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, (AHRQ), there were more than 463,000 spinal fusion operations conducted in the U.S. in 2014, a procedure commonly done in the lumbar region of the lower back to treat back pain. Hospital costs for a fusion procedure average $28,9001, according to AHRQ. Facilities designated as Blue Distinction Centers® for Spine Surgery demonstrate expertise in cervical and lumbar fusion, cervical laminectomy and lumbar laminectomy/discectomy procedures, resulting in fewer patient complications and readmissions compared to other hospitals. All designated facilities must maintain national accreditation.

Mercy Redding is proud to be recognized by Blue Shield of California for meeting the robust selection criteria for spine surgery set by the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.

“We are honored to receive this prestigious accolade by Blue Shield of California. This Blue Distinction validates our surgical expertise and exemplifies the excellent work of our physicians, nurses, and staff who are dedicated to providing life-changing care to our community,” said G. Todd Smith, President, Mercy Medical Center Redding.

The Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality care in the areas of bariatric surgery, cancer care, cardiac care, cellular immunotherapy, fertility care, gene therapy, knee and hip replacements, maternity care, spine surgery, substance use treatment and recovery and transplants. Research for many of these programs shows that, compared to other providers, those designated as Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate high-quality and improved outcomes for patients.

For more information about the program and for a complete listing of designated facilities, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.

1 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

About Mercy Medical Center Redding
Mercy Medical Center Redding offers comprehensive health care to nearly 300,000 residents in a six-county region. Mercy Medical Center Redding is an award-winning 267-bed regional medical center providing inpatient and outpatient services as well as specialized Cardiovascular care, Advanced Stroke care—including Neurovascular treatments, Neurological surgery, Neuro-orthopedics, comprehensive cancer care, and maternity care.

About Blue Shield of California
Blue Shield of California strives to create a healthcare system worthy of its family and friends that is sustainably affordable. Blue Shield of California is a tax paying, nonprofit, independent member of the Blue Shield Association with over 4.5 million members, over 7,500 employees and more than $21 billion in annual revenue. Founded in 1939 in San Francisco and now headquartered in Oakland, Blue Shield of California and its affiliates provide health, dental, vision, Medicaid and Medicare healthcare service plans in California. The company has contributed more than $150 million to Blue Shield of California Foundation in the last four years to have an impact on California communities.

For more news about Blue Shield of California, please visit news.blueshieldca.com.

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About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through The Health of America Report series and the national BCBS Health Indexsm. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit BCBS.com. We also encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube and follow us on Twitter.

About Blue Distinction Centers
Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures for patient safety and outcomes, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for facilities located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable health care. Each facility’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Facilities in CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA may lie in two Local Blue Plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for non-covered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.