Powder River Surgery Center Receives BCBSWY Circle of Excellence Designation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Powder River Surgery Center Receives BCBSWY Circle of Excellence Designation

GILLETTE, Wyo. – Nov. 1, 2022 – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming (BCBSWY) recently announced that the Powder River Surgery Center (PRSC) was designated as Wyoming's first and only Blue Circle of Excellence Center for knee and hip replacements. In February 2020, BCBSWY designated Campbell County Health as a Blue Distinction Specialty Center+ for Knee and Hip Replacements.

The Circle of Excellence designation highlights ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) that show expertise in delivering high-quality care, ensuring patient safety, and achieving better health outcomes. This designation is based upon objective measures developed with input from the medical community and leading accreditation and quality organizations.

"We started the Blue Circle of Excellence program to build a Wyoming driven solution specifically designed to recognize top-tier ambulatory surgical centers around the state," said Diane Gore, BCBSWY president and CEO. "Encouraging specialty care at the right location can help hold the line on health care costs while promoting effective, high-quality medical care. We are excited to partner with Powder River Surgery Center to offer our members the best care at the most affordable price."

CCH and PRSC strive to become Wyoming's first choice in healthcare and wellness. These visions are more than catchy slogans printed on paper. We are truly committed to becoming the very best in healthcare in Wyoming.

"CCH and PRSC have the energy, the drive, and the tenacity to be the best," said Matt Shahan, Campbell County Health CEO. "Our visions are something not just to aspire to, but to actively work towards realizing. While the necessary work may be hard, it's what our community deserves and what we have promised. PRSC's Blue Circle of Excellence distinction demonstrates our united commitment in this partnership to become the best in Wyoming. Our work towards realizing our visions is paying off with tangible benefits to the lives we are honored to serve with Excellence Every Day."

PRSC, which has accreditation from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), and pending Total Joint Accreditation adds to its growing list of distinctions with this BCBSWY Circle of Excellence award.

"At Powder River Surgery Center, we are focused on quality of care. Although we are accredited by AAAHC for all our services, it is an honor to obtain this Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming Center of Excellence Award, specifically for our total joint program that we have worked hard to develop," said Linda Bedwell, Director, Powder River Surgery Center.

PRSC's knee and hip replacement program was a complex endeavor that required an intense time commitment to get up and running with involvement across all levels of the organization. They aim to continue improving the program with great things to come for Gillette and the greater northeast Wyoming communities.

"We'd been having meetings, making plans, setting up protocols – easily for six to eight months before our first case," said Dr. Stanford Isrealsen, Medical Director of Powder River Surgery Center. "We had people involved from the office staff, nurses, the surgeons, physical therapy, surgical techs, and anesthesia; everyone was involved in setting this program up so it would succeed from the beginning. We plan to keep improving and perfect every aspect of this process [knee and hip replacements]."

Campbell County Health and Powder River Surgery Center are proud to share this substantial achievement with the community. We know that with the dedicated staff and providers at the PRSC there will be much more to come!

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