Highest quality recognition for lung cancer surgery earned by HCA Florida Trinity Hospital

HCA Florida Trinity Hospital is excited to announce it has earned a distinguished three-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for its patient care and lung cancer resection outcomes. The three-star rating, which denotes the highest category of quality, places Trinity Hospital among the elite for general thoracic surgery in the United States and Canada.

“This honor is a testament to the skill and expertise of Dr. Ninan and our surgical team in lung cancer tumor removal to support the best possible outcome for patients,” explained Mike Irvin, CEO, HCA Florida Trinity Hospital. “This commitment to the most effective treatment of lung cancer, from embracing the latest diagnostic tools to perfecting the surgical resection, is making a difference in the lives of our patients.”

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 General Thoracic Surgery Database (GTSD) star ratings are derived by testing whether the participant's composite or domain score is significantly different from the overall STS average for lobectomy for lung cancer performed by GTSD participants.  

The latest analysis of data for lung cancer resection covers a 3-year period, from January 2021 to December 2023.

 “Our commitment to quality outcomes for our thoracic surgical patients has led us to participate in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons General Thoracic Surgery Database,” explained Mathew Ninan, MD, FACS, FRCS(Th), FEBTCS(Th), MSC1. “This database strictly tracks outcomes and the data abstractors directly access our records, with minimal input from the clinical teams. At HCA Florida Trinity Hospital, we have achieved the highest possible three-star rating for both overall lung surgery and lobectomy in particular, making us one of only 22 such programs to achieve this milestone in the United States.”

Trinity Hospital has also earned the American College of Surgeons Integrated Network Cancer Program designation.

The GTSD—the largest and most robust clinical thoracic surgical database in the United States and Canada—contains more than 616,000 general thoracic surgery procedure records and has approximately 1,000 participating physicians. Almost 35% of GTSD participants are currently enrolled in public reporting.

“The Society of Thoracic Surgeons congratulates STS National Database participants who have received three-star ratings,” said David M. Shahian, MD, chair of the Task Force on Quality Measurement. “Participation in the Database and public reporting demonstrates a commitment to quality improvement in health care delivery and provides patients and their families with meaningful information to help them make informed decisions about health care.”