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Hoag Earns Blue Distinction® Center Designation for Cardiac Care

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., February 12, 2019 — Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian was recently recognized as a Blue Distinction® Center for Cardiac Care, as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated healthcare facilities shown to deliver improved 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.

“Hoag is honored to be recognized as a Blue Distinction Center for our expertise in delivering quality specialty care, safely and effectively,” said Robert T. Braithwaite, Hoag president and CEO. “Hoag continues to offer the most advanced cardiac care available, and on behalf of our exceptional physicians, nurses, staff and management, we are very proud that our services have been nationally recognized.”

To receive a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care designation, hospitals must demonstrate expertise in delivering safe and effective cardiac care, focusing on cardiac valve surgery, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), and percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) episodes of care, and are assessed using a combination of quality information supplied by hospitals and third party data registries, and cost measures derived from Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies’ medical claims.

Along with this prestigious recognition, Hoag’s Jeffrey M. Carlton Heart & Vascular Institute is one of the preeminent cardiovascular centers on the West Coast, having also been named one of the 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals in the nation by IBM Watson Health™. In addition, Hoag’s Newport Beach and Irvine campuses are both designated Cardiovascular Receiving Centers (CVRC) by the Orange County Emergency Medical Services.

ABOUT HOAG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL PRESBYTERIAN

Hoag is an approximately $1 billion nonprofit, regional health care delivery network in Orange County, California, that treats more than 30,000 inpatients and 450,000 outpatients annually. Hoag consists of two acute-care hospitals – Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, which opened in 1952, and Hoag Hospital Irvine, which opened in 2010 – in addition to eight health centers and 11 urgent care centers. Hoag is a designated Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Hoag offers a comprehensive blend of health care services that includes five institutes providing specialized services in the following areas: cancer, heart and vascular, neurosciences, women’s health, and orthopedics through Hoag’s affiliate, Hoag Orthopedic Institute which consists of an orthopedic hospital and two ambulatory surgical centers. Hoag has been named one of the Best Regional Hospitals in the 2018 – 2019 U.S. News & World Report, and Becker’s Healthcare named Hoag as one of the 2018 “100 Great Hospitals in America” – a designation Hoag has received five times. For an unprecedented 23 years, residents of Orange County have chosen Hoag as one of the county’s best hospitals in a local newspaper survey. Visit www.hoag.org for more information.

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 Blue Cross Blue Shield, 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, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for providers 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 healthcare. Each provider’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Providers 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 www.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.

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