St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Vascular Surgery team has received the prestigious Dr. Larry Kraiss Quality Award from the Society for Vascular Surgery’s Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI), one of the highest honors in the field of vascular care.
The award recognizes health care providers that have achieved prolonged, consistent excellence by maintaining the VQI’s top three-star rating for at least eight consecutive years. This rare distinction reflects not only clinical precision, but also an enduring commitment to quality improvement, data transparency and superior patient care.
In 2026, St. Luke’s Allentown and Bethlehem campuses were among just 13 recipients nationwide out of 909 participating hospitals, placing the Network among an elite group of institutions that includes nationally renowned medical centers such as Cleveland Clinic, Emory University Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Yale New Haven Hospital. Notably, St. Luke’s is the only health system in Pennsylvania or New Jersey to earn this distinction, underscoring its position as a regional and national leader in vascular care.
The honor was accepted at the VQI awards ceremony in Boston by Drs. Sharvil Sheth and Calogero DiMaggio, representing the broader St. Luke’s Vascular Surgery team. Adding to this achievement, St. Luke’s Monroe Campus also earned a three-star rating, highlighting system-wide dedication to vascular quality improvement and ensuring patients across the region have access to top-tier care close to home.
This recognition further reinforces the strength of St. Luke’s Heart & Vascular program, which continues to distinguish itself through both excellence and innovation. The program has been at the forefront of advanced treatment options, recently becoming the first in the region to offer cutting-edge procedures such as DETOUR (for patients with severe peripheral artery disease) and LimFlow (for individuals facing chronic limb-threatening ischemia) –expanding options for patients who previously had few alternatives.
Furthermore, groundbreaking clinical trials for new technologies such as ROADSTER for carotid stenting, STAAABLE for treating of small to medium size aortic aneurysms and BOOMERANG for limb salvage- are available directly to St. Luke’s patients, eliminating the need to travel out of the region for advanced care.
In recent years, St. Luke’s Heart & Vascular has also been among the first in the nation to perform transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement and continues to innovate with minimally invasive techniques such as Valve-in-Valve Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) using the Pi-Cardia ShortCut device. Together, these achievements reflect a relentless commitment to pushing the boundaries of medicine—bringing world-class, life-saving care to patients throughout the region.
St. Luke's Heart & Vascular is an eight-time nationally ranked 50 Top Heart Hospital dedicated to delivering unmatched, patient-centered care. From the most complex cases to routine procedures, St. Luke's embraces innovative technologies to deliver the highest quality outcomes for all heart and vascular conditions.
