DHR Health Earns 3 Blue Distinction Center Designations for Quality Care
BlueCross BlueShield of Texas selected DHR Health as a Blue Distinction Center+ for Spine Surgery and Blue Distinction Center for both Knee and Hip Replacement and for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery.
DHR Health is proud to be recognized by BlueCross BlueShield of Texas for meeting the robust selection criteria set by the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated healthcare facilities shown to demonstrate quality care, treatment expertise and better overall patient results and Blue Distinction Centers+ demonstrate more affordable care in addition to quality care, treatment expertise and better overall patient results. Both distinctions offer improved patient safety and better health outcomes based on objective measures that were developed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies with input from the medical community.
Blue Distinction Center+ for Spine Surgery
DHR Health is the first in the Rio Grande Valley and only facility south of Houston to receive Blue Distinction Center+ and joins 10 other hospitals across the state of Texas as an elite group of hospitals that can provide this highly-specialized care. Hospitals designated as Blue Distinction Centers+ for Spine Surgery are recognized for their expertise and cost efficiency in delivering specialty care. Additionally, the designation recognizes DHR Health’s Spine Surgery Center for demonstrating expertise in cervical and lumbar fusion, cervical laminectomy and lumbar laminectomy/discectomy procedures. Distinction Centers for Spine Surgery provide patients comprehensive inpatient spine surgery services, including discectomy, fusion and decompression procedures. These centers have lower readmission rates and fewer reoperations.
Providing true comprehensive neurological care as an integral component of the DHR Health Neuroscience Institute, the Spine Surgery Center has the region’s only fellowship-trained spine surgeons: Achal P. Patel, MD, Neurosurgeon and Medical Director of the Spine Center of Excellence and Jaime Villarreal, MD and Orthopedic Surgeon at the Orthopedic Institute. Designated as a Level I Comprehensive Stroke Center, DHR Health’s Neuroscience Institute also encompasses the region’s first Joint Commission Comprehensive Stroke Center. The multidisciplinary team includes specialists in neurology, neurosurgery, physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy, caring for patients affected by stroke, epilepsy, movement disorders, brain and spine injuries as well as other neurological issues.
“We are excited to have this distinction. At DHR our goal is provide the best spine care in the Rio Grande Valley”, states, Achal Patel, M.D., a fellowship trained Spine Surgeon at DHR Health Neuroscience Institute.
Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement
Knee and Hip Replacement procedures are among the fastest growing medical treatments in the United States. DHR Health demonstrated expertise in total knee and total hip replacement surgeries, resulting in the designation of Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement. DHR Health is the only hospital in Hidalgo County to have this distinction and is one of 48 in Texas. This level of expertise is achieved by instituting evidenced-based measures and protocols in a cost efficient, affordable manner. These protocols are implemented throughout the whole course of care starting in the surgeon's office during the preoperative phase, the actual surgery and throughout the entire hospital stay as well as follow-up after the patient leaves the hospital.
“We offer to the community a comprehensive list of orthopedic services including total shoulder replacements, fracture management, sports medicine, spine surgery, hand and upper extremity
surgeries, non-operative management of osteoarthritis as well as rehabilitation services”, states Salvador Mendez, M.D., Medical Director of Total Hip and Knee Replacement at DHR Health Orthopedic Institute.
Blue Distinction Center for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery
DHR Health is the only hospital south of San Antonio to have obtained the Blue Distinction Centers for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery and is one of 12 in Texas. DHR Health is dedicated to helping patients overcome substance abuse disorders. Blue Distinction Centers for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery aim to improve patient outcomes and value by focusing on providers across the full continuum of care who deliver and facilitate treatment for substance use disorder, including opioid use disorder.
“I am very proud of all the staff that works so hard every day and I’m glad that they along with the hospital are receiving some recognition”, states Jose Igoa, M.D., Medical Director at DHR Health Behavioral Hospital. “We have the best therapist-to-patient ratio and we take pride in the fact that our patients are able to leave with more than just a prescription and have developed better coping skills to manage their stressors.”
The DHR Health Behavioral Hospital consists of a team of psychiatrists, nurses, counselors, therapists and case managers that provide individualized and specialized, short-term and solution-oriented treatment options for children, adolescents, adults and seniors. The Behavioral Hospital uses cognitive behavioral therapy and promotes steps to recovery among other treatment options for substance use. DHR Health Behavioral Hospital also offers Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, an innovative, noninvasive procedure for depression.
Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality providers at affordable costs while encouraging healthcare professionals to improve the care they deliver. For more information about the program and for a complete listing of the designated facilities, you can visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.
DHR Health prioritizes achieving the highest standards in patient care and is committed to continue delivering the best possible service to the Rio Grande Valley. As a Blue Distinction Center and Blue Distinction Center+, DHR Health is credited for demonstrating fewer patient complications and hospital readmissions compared to other hospitals, showing the importance of quality care. Designated hospitals must also maintain national accreditation to be designated.
