Beaufort Memorial Awarded Two National Distinctions for Orthopedic Programs
July 28, 2025
Beaufort Memorial has earned two prestigious national designations for excellence in orthopedic care: Blue Distinction Center for spine surgery and Blue Distinction Center+ for knee and hip replacement. These honors spotlight the hospital’s commitment to delivering high-quality, cost-effective treatment across its orthopedic specialties.
Selected by Blue Cross Blue Shield, these designations are awarded through a rigorous evaluation process that considers provider expertise, patient outcomes and overall value. Hospitals must apply and meet strict, evidence-based criteria to achieve this level of recognition.
“We are honored to receive these prestigious, national recognitions,” said Beaufort Memorial Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kurt Gambla. “We are a center of excellence, and we have a top-of-the-line crew in our orthopedic department.”
The Beaufort Memorial spine surgery program’s designation as a Blue Distinction Center means that the facility demonstrates quality care, treatment expertise and better overall patient results. A Blue Distinction Center+ designation, awarded to the organization’s program for knee and hip replacement, means that Beaufort Memorial demonstrates that same high-quality care, expertise and better patient results, but also with more affordable care.
“For patients, it can be hard to know how to measure quality in healthcare, but this designation is a widely recognized stamp of approval,” Gambla said.
Criteria weighed for these two distinctions include surgery volume and performance measures such as postoperative readmission and surgery complication rates.
For patients, these designations for two areas of Beaufort Memorial’s orthopedic program mean that procedures performed by orthopedic surgeons at Beaufort Memorial Hospital result in fewer patient complications and readmissions following their procedures, which can offer patients peace of mind knowing that they are in expert hands.
The organization’s orthopedic program is regularly recognized for its high-quality care; the Beaufort Memorial Joint Replacement Center is one of only four in the state of South Carolina to achieve Advanced Certification in Total Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery from The Joint Commission, a national healthcare accrediting body.
“Beaufort Memorial has shown that it is a center for excellence, especially in the area of orthopedics, time and time again,” Dr. Gambla said. “The Blue Distinction Center and Blue Distinction Center+ designations are milestones for this organization as we continue on our mission to expand the highest quality, affordable and accessible care to our patients in the Lowcountry.”
To learn more about the orthopedic, spine and sports medicine specialists with Beaufort Memorial, visit BeaufortMemorial.org/Ortho.
