The Jewish Hospital awarded UnitedHealth Premium® Total Joint Replacement Specialty Center and Cardiac Specialty Center designation

Cincinnati - The Jewish Hospital has been designated a UnitedHealth Premium® Total Joint Replacement Specialty Center and a Cardiac Specialty Center for 2007 to 2009. This designation means that Jewish Hospital has met rigorous quality criteria based on nationally recognized medical standards and expert advice. UnitedHealthcare developed the UnitedHealth Premium® Specialty Center designation program to give its members information about, and access to, hospitals meeting rigorous quality criteria.

The designation is based on detailed information about specialized training, practice capabilities and outcomes that Jewish Hospital submits to UnitedHealthcare and is designed to help consumers make informed decisions about where to seek cardiac or joint replacement care.

"This recognition by a national carrier reflects the commitment of The Jewish Hospital to provide the very best staffing, technology and support to its surgeons, and that translates into better care for our patients," says Elliott Fegelman, M.D., chief of surgery at The Jewish Hospital. Jewish Hospital is Greater Cincinnati's premier knee and hip hospital, performing more computer-assisted orthopedic procedures than any other hospital in the world, and more total joint replacements than any other hospital in Cincinnati. In 2004, Jewish Hospital opened the world's first operating room dedicated to computer-assisted orthopedic surgery.The Jewish Hospital has one of the region's most established cardiovascular programs, and was the first hospital in Southwest Ohio to perform open-heart surgery in a suburban location.

The Jewish Hospital is an acute care hospital located in Cincinnati's northeast suburbs. It was established in 1850 as the first Jewish hospital in the United States and is part of the Health Alliance, an integrated health care delivery system. To view other Jewish Hospital news releases, go to www.health-alliance.com/pressroom.