News/Corazon and Columbia HeartSource Announce Partnership Offering First-of-its-Kind Open-Heart Surgery Accreditation
Corazon and Columbia HeartSource Announce Partnership Offering First-of-its-Kind Open-Heart Surgery Accreditation
Accreditation will be available to hospitals and health centers that demonstrate excellence in open-heart surgery
New York, NY and Pittsburgh, PA – February, 2026 – Columbia HeartSource, an extension of Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s Department of Surgery and Division of Cardiology and Corazon, a national leader in strategic program development for cardiovascular services, today announced a partnership to deliver unique accreditation services for open-heart surgery programs nationwide. This first-of-its-kind offering will benefit both providers and the communities they serve via a new process of identifying and measuring excellence in standards that will, in turn, improve health outcomes.
Through this partnership, Corazon and Columbia HeartSource will set a new standard for excellence in cardiac surgery by combining Corazon’s programmatic expertise with Columbia’s world-class clinical experience.
Together, they will enhance a unique open-heart surgery accreditation with the purpose of enabling superior patient outcomes through rigorous chart reviews, program standards evaluation, and continuous quality improvement initiatives.
“As a premiere institution for heart health, we are honored and eager to share our knowledge and experience with other healthcare systems around the country.” said Dr. Craig Smith, Co-Chair, Columbia HeartSource. “Cardiac surgery outcomes are some of the most publicly available and tenuous metrics to manage. Our collaboration will help institutions, of all sizes and experiences strengthen their cardiac surgery programs and deliver exceptional care to patients with heart disease.”
“Today marks a defining moment for cardiac care in the United States. By partnering with the world‑class team at Columbia HeartSource, we are improving the first accreditation program designed specifically for open‑heart surgery units.”
Ross Swanson, President of Corazon, continues, “This partnership is the only formal open-heart accreditation offering nationwide. Through this partnership, we’re ensuring that hospitals now have access to the highest level of clinical oversight and accreditation standards—ultimately improving care for patients in highly critical circumstances.”
"We’re thrilled to partner with the best-in-class doctors and staff at Columbia HeartSource and help lead the industry into a new era where staffing, quality, and operational excellence come together to shape the future of cardiac surgery.”
Benjamin Mirtes, Ingenovis Health CEO stated, “We have always believed that healthcare staffing is not just about delivering skilled professionals; it’s about elevating the entire system they serve. This new accreditation creates a blueprint for excellence that will help hospitals strengthen clinical outcomes, improve team performance, and ultimately raise the bar for patient care nationwide."
The Columbia-Corazon partnership offers two tiers of open-heart accreditation services:
Basic Tier – Comprehensive chart reviews by Columbia’s board-certified physicians, accompanied by program surveys and quarterly quality review.
Enhanced Tier – In-depth program standards assessment, uninterrupted STS data review, and continuous quality improvement planning.
About Columbia HeartSource
Columbia HeartSource provides exceptional healthcare consulting and executive management services to hospitals across the United States and abroad. Formed through the close collaboration of Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s Department of Surgery and Division of Cardiology, Columbia HeartSource has a decades-spanning record of successfully working with its affiliate members to transfer cardiovascular clinical knowledge, establish and manage quality assurance systems, provide leadership and training, and supply growth and management expertise in establishing and managing cardiac care programs. For more information, visit https://www.columbiacardiology.org/about-us/columbia-heartsource.
About Corazon, LLC
Corazon is the national leader in program development for the Heart, Vascular, Neuroscience, Spine, Orthopedic, and Surgical service lines, offering a full continuum of Consulting, Recruitment, Interim Management, Accreditation, and Peer Review. We provide the strategic, clinical, operational, market, and financial expertise necessary to develop a truly outstanding specialty program. For more information, visit www.corazoninc.com.
About Ingenovis Health
Ingenovis Health is an ingenious healthcare talent ecosystem that delivers customized workforce solutions, talent operations, and critical clinical staff to hospitals, health systems, and healthcare facilities nationwide. Through a family of specialized staffing brands—including Trustaff, Fastaff, HealthCare Support, USN, VISTA Staffing, Springboard Healthcare, VitalSolution and Corazon—as well as its workforce solutions brand, Ingenovis Talent Operations (ITO), Ingenovis provides purpose-driven workforce solutions across the United States.
