St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital has been named a Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS)—the highest designation a pediatric hospital can receive. This notable designation comes from the
ACS Children’s Surgery Verification Quality Improvement Program, and is a testament to BayCare and St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital’s commitment to providing high-quality care for pediatric patients.
St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital’s board-certified pediatric surgical specialists are specially trained to operate on children from newborn to adults, using traditional and advanced minimally invasive surgical techniques. Out of nearly 470 children’s hospitals in the United States, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital is the 55th to receive this prestigious Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center designation.
“Children have unique needs before, during and after surgery,” said Dr. Grant Geissler, BayCare Medical Group pediatric surgeon and medical director of children’s surgery at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. “It’s critical that their care is provided by doctors, nurses and other supportive clinicians who exclusively specialize in treating pediatric patients.”
According to Kirsten Yancy, pediatric surgical program coordinator at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, verified children’s surgery centers must meet rigorous criteria that demonstrates collaboration, national engagement and alignment of pediatric surgical services across departments within the hospital. They also must deliver patient-centered care for all levels of patient complexity and have the patient volume to demonstrate expertise. Additionally, they must provide data-driven quality and safety oversight of surgical outcomes and participate in continuous quality improvement.
Yancy led the lengthy ACS Children’s Surgery Verification (CSV) initiative at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, and adds that the verification process involves an intensive site visit by a team of ACS surveyors that includes experienced pediatric surgeons, pediatric anesthesiologists and pediatric nurses.
“CSV standards ensure that all children facing surgery receive coordinated care under a multidisciplinary program with embedded safety processes, data collection, appropriate resources, and a focus on quality improvement throughout all phases of their surgical care.”
Learn more about St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital’s services
here.
