Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center Earns Blue Distinction Center Designation for Quality in Spine Surgery

Tenet Health Central Coast’s Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo has been recognized 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.

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.

“It is important for our communities to know that this designation is earned, and is determined on quality data,” said Mark Lisa, CEO of Tenet Health Central Coast. “This is truly a recognition of the commitment to quality by our doctors, nurses and staff as evidenced through these evaluations of our structures, processes, volume and outcomes.”

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.