Three Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Hospitals Again Receive Prestigious Three-Star Ratings

July 23, 2025

Three Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (VMFH) hospitals have once again been awarded a prestigious three-star rating from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), the highest rating possible in cardiac surgery.

The STS star rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in health care, rating the benchmarked outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery programs in the United States and Canada. The star rating is calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD) participant. The latest ACSD analysis covers a three-year period, from January 2022 to December 2024.

“It’s an honor to receive this recognition from the STS,” said Craig Hampton, MD, FACS, medical director of Cardiac Surgery for St. Joseph Medical Center (SJMC). “It is no small accomplishment. We have consistently been awarded a three-star rating year over year, and these awards demonstrate our steadfast commitment to quality, excellence and compassionate care. I am proud of our clinical teams, and it’s a privilege to provide world-class care close to home for patients across our region.”

St. Joseph Medical Center (SJMC) in Tacoma, Virginia Mason Medical Center (VMMC) in Seattle, and St. Michael Medical Center (SMMC) in Silverdale, have all been awarded three-stars. Each of the three hospitals is recognized for excellence in a distinct type of heart surgery.

VMMC earned a three-star rating from the STS for its patient care and outcomes in aortic valve replacement (AVR) combined with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The three-star rating places VMMC among the elite for AVR+CABG surgery in the United States and Canada. Historically, approximately 4%-7% of participants receive the three-star rating for AVR+CABG surgery.

SMMC received a three-star rating for its patient care and outcomes in isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures. Approximately 21% of participants receive the three-star rating for isolated CABG surgery, placing SMMC among the elite for heart bypass surgery.

SJMC earned a three-star rating from the STS for its patient care and outcomes in mitral valve replacement and repair (MVRR) surgery. Historically, approximately 11% of participants receive the three-star rating for MVRR surgery, also placing it among the elite.

SJMC and SMMC also received three stars for multiprocedural cardiac surgery, which includes different types of surgeries, including bypass surgery (CABG), valve replacements (AVR, MVR), and valve repairs (MVVR), sometimes done together. The measurement helps identify the best-performing heart surgery programs in the U.S. and Canada.

“The Society of Thoracic Surgeons leads the effort in quality improvement by maintaining one of the most penetrant clinical databases in cardiothoracic surgery that employs high-fidelity risk models to provide risk-adjusted outcomes to individual participants,” said Ram Kumar Subramanyan, MD, PhD, Chair of the STS Council on Quality and Research. “STS thanks participants for voluntarily submitting data to the databases, demonstrating their commitment to improving health care delivery.”

The STS National Database was established as an initiative for quality improvement and patient safety among cardiothoracic surgeons in 1989. The star rating is calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database participant.
 

About Virginia Mason Franciscan Health
Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (VMFH) is an integrated health system serving the Puget Sound region, including 10 hospitals and nearly 300 care sites. Founded in 1891, VMFH embraces its long history of caring for the most vulnerable, especially the poor and underserved, and meeting the evolving health care needs of the vibrant, diverse communities it serves. VMFH is a proud home to the Bailey-Boushay House, the first skilled nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the United States designed specifically to meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS, and the Benaroya Research Institute, an internationally recognized institution for autoimmune disease research. VMFH is part of CommonSpirit, one of the nation’s largest health systems, dedicated to advancing health for all people.