EAST STROUDSBURG - The highest designation given to hospitals by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) -- a three-star rating for overall quality of heart surgery -- has been awarded to Pocono Medical Center's ESSA Heart and Vascular Institute.  Nationwide, approximately 10 percent of heart centers attain this level, which is a designation recognizing quality and clinical excellence.

This designation was conferred as part of a comprehensive rating system that compares the quality of cardiac surgery among hospitals across the country.  The three-star designation is based on data obtained from January-December 2008.