North York General Hospital recognized by the American College of Surgeons

Dr. Nancy Down

North York General Hospital (NYGH) has achieved an impressive “meritorious” status for “high risk” surgical patient care by the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP). The program’s goal is to reduce complications from surgery and improve the quality of surgical care.  

“Participating in quality improvement programs ensures we are always applying learning and innovation to everything we do,” says Dr. Joshua Tepper, NYGH President and CEO. “Collecting detailed surgical data and comparing our outcomes to hospitals in both Canada and the U.S. gives us a clear indication that when patients come for surgery at North York General, they receive exceptional care.”  

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®) has recognized 88 of an eligible 592 hospitals (in Canada and United States) participating in its adult program for achieving meritorious outcomes in the following eight clinical areas:

  • Mortality
  • Cardiac: cardiac arrest and myocardial infarction
  • Pneumonia
  • Unplanned Intubation
  • Ventilator > 48 hours
  • Renal Failure
  • SSI: superficial incisional SSI, deep incisional SSI, and organ/space SSI
  • UTI: urinary tract infection

As a participating hospital, NYGH is required to track the outcomes of inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures. These results direct patient safety initiatives within the hospital and impact the quality of surgical care delivered to patients.

Over the past three years, NYGH has successfully implemented a number of quality improvement initiatives based on NSQIP data including catheter associated urinary tract infection, colorectal surgical site infection, and reducing the volume of opioids prescribed post-surgery discharge (general surgery, orthopaedics and thyroid surgery). The NYGH Surgical Program has shared their knowledge gained through each initiative with other teams and hospitals to help improve the quality of care of all patients.

“Quality improvement is a journey and we are continuously implementing new practices and processes that make patient care better and safer,” says Dr. Lloyd Smith, Chief of Surgery. “It is a part of our culture, whereby everyone at North York General views quality and safety as part of their role.”

Read more about the award.

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