Penn State Hershey part of new report on pediatric cardiac surgery outcomes

Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital is part of a first-of-its-kind report released today on pediatric and congenital heart surgery. The report on pediatric cardiac surgery outcomes is a first of its kind in Pennsylvania, and is the only statewide reporting effort like it in the nation.

The report from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) shows Penn State Hershey's mortality figures to be no different than those of leading children's hospitals across the United States. With regard to neonates – children who required heart surgery in the first 30 days of life – Penn State Hershey's outcomes were better than the national average.

The report includes data from five hospitals – four in Pennsylvania and one in Delaware. It provides the public with volume and in-hospital mortality data on nine widely-performed heart surgeries. The data reported was provided to PHC4 by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and covers the four-year period of 2009-2012, the most recent data available.

“This report reinforces for families in central Pennsylvania that they don't have to leave the region to find great heart care for their children,” said Dr. A. Craig Hillemeier, dean of Penn State College of Medicine, chief executive officer of Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Health System, and Penn State's senior vice president for health affairs.

Penn State Hershey Children's Heart Group has been recognized among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

Affecting nearly one out of every 100 infants in the United States, congenital heart defects are the most common birth defect and the leading cause of deaths related to birth defects.

The other hospitals covered in the report are Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Geisinger Children's Hospital and Nemours A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children.

To access a copy of the full report, click here.

If you're having trouble accessing this content, or would like it in another format, please email Penn State Health Marketing & Communications.