Summit Orthopedics’ Eagan Surgery Center Recognized

Summit Orthopedics’ Eagan Surgery Center has earned Blue Distinction Center+ Status for Spine Surgery from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, becoming the first ambulatory surgery center in the state to receive this recognition of excellence.

Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Blue Distinction Specialty Care program encourages medical facilities to excel in their areas of expertise and empowers patients to identify the best care available. The program recognizes doctors, hospitals and other healthcare facilities in 11 specialty areas for quality care, treatment expertise, and better overall patient results. Distinction Centers+ also demonstrate more affordable care. Blue Distinction Centers and Blue Distinction Centers+ for Spine Surgery provide comprehensive spine surgery services, including discectomy, fusion and decompression procedures, and have lower readmission rates and fewer reoperations.

David Strothman, MD, a leading spine surgeon at Summit Orthopedics, said, “It’s a true honor for our Eagan Surgery Center to receive recognition as a Blue Distinction Center+ for Spine Surgery. Our team in Eagan, and at all of our surgery centers, is committed to providing highly personalized patient-centered care. We take great pride in the positive results our patients achieve and the significant cost-savings we offer.”

Strothman added that just last year, the Eagan Surgery Center became the first in the nation to receive The Joint Commission’s Certificate of Distinction for the Management of Spinal Fusion, which is limited to those facilities that meet a challenging list of processes, protocols, and standards that lead to better spinal fusion outcomes for patients.

While both the Blue Distinction Center+ recognition and The Joint Commission’s Certificate of Distinction are both related to spine surgery, Strothman noted that Summit Orthopedics focuses first and foremost on conservative, nonsurgical treatments for its patients. “At Summit, we only pursue surgery when all other treatment options fail,” he said. “In fact, just 15 percent of our spine patients are treated with surgery.”

Summit Orthopedics’ Eagan location is a one-stop, state-of-the-art center offering patients comprehensive orthopedic treatment that includes physician consultations, advanced imaging, therapy, bracing, orthotics, and a seven-day-a-week walk-in clinic. The Eagan Surgery Center is located within the facility and offers surgical care and overnight recovery in specialized care suites adjacent to the surgical facility for those undergoing advanced spine procedures and total joint replacements. In a concept still new to Minnesota and launched at Summit’s Vadnais Heights facility, the care suites offer personalized services, such as catered meals from local restaurants and one-on-one education and physical therapy, as well as hotel-level amenities, including Wi-Fi, lounge seating, and concierge services. In addition, the suites boast Secure Tracks, a post-surgery accelerated walking system exclusive to Summit Orthopedics that gets patients up and walking within hours of surgery.

Simultaneous to Summit’s Eagan Surgery Center’s Blue Distinction Center+ recognition, Summit’s Vadnais Heights Surgery Center, which mirrors the Eagan facility in treatment offerings and amenities, became the first ambulatory surgery center in Minnesota to earn Blue Distinction Center+ Status for Knee and Hip Replacement. The Vadnais Heights facility is also a 2017 recipient of The Joint Commission’s Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement.