Russell Stahl, MD

Myrtle Beach — The Grand Strand area now has one of the highest-rated heart bypass surgery programs in the country. Grand Strand Medical Center, part of Grand Strand Health, 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, which denotes the highest category of quality, places Grand Strand Medical Center among the elite (approximately 10%-15% of hospitals) for heart bypass surgery in the United States and Canada.

This rating is designed to tell you which hospitals are offering the best and safest heart care. It's based on a specific review of patient outcomes - how well they recover after heart bypass surgery.

"For heart bypass surgery patients and their families, this rating means the care they receive at Grand Strand Medical Center is among the very best in the entire country," explained Cardiothoracic Surgeon Russell Stahl, MD, with Grand Strand Heart & Vascular Care.

Dr. Stahl is joined by Cardiothoracic Surgeon Karen Gersch, MD, at Grand Strand Heart & Vascular Care. Together, their work was the foundation for the exceptional STS review of Grand Strand Medical Center's heart bypass surgery program.

Karen Gersch, MD

"We care for the hearts of our community with the comprehensive services we provide," explained Dr. Gersch. "And the ones who really benefit from this recognition are our patients." The doctors and nurses with Grand Strand Health saved 8,700 hearts in 2017. The STS three-star rating is one reason why so many people from around the region trust Grand Strand Health with their hearts.

"Participation in the Database and public reporting demonstrates a commitment to quality improvement in healthcare delivery and helps provide patients and their families with meaningful information to help them make informed decisions about healthcare," said David M. Shahian, MD, Chair of the STS Council on Quality, Research, and Patient Safety.

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