Highlights from the American College of Surgeons
2018 Quality and Safety Conference
Registry Partners team members attended the American College of Surgeons (ACS) 2018 Quality and Safety Conference in Orlando, Florida. This annual event is hosted by the ACS and focuses on improvement of surgical care and patient safety; targeted to those facilities and organizations participating in one of the many ACS quality improvement programs, including National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) and Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP).
The theme for the conference this year was “Partnering for Improvement” and we were particularly fond of this theme! The conference provides numerous educational opportunities through general sessions targeting all improvement program participants and also provides breakout sessions that are program specific so that each participant can attend sessions most meaningful to their role.
The keynote address was delivered by Rolf Benirschke, former NFL kicker with the San Diego Chargers. He shared personal insights on the impact of illness and multiple surgeries and how his healthcare team partnered together enabling him to recover physically and emotionally and return to his career in the NFL.
One particular breakout session this year featured a presentation by Stephanie Scruggs, RN, BSN, SCR titled “Initiation of an ERAS Program in a Large Rural Hospital”. Stephanie shared the goals, challenges and results of her facility’s performance improvement efforts to reduce length of stay and decrease postoperative complications; to improve outcomes for patients undergoing colorectal surgery, through implementation of an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) care pathway.
Stephanie is a certified Adult NSQIP Surgical Clinical Reviewer (SCR) and is a Validation Manager in the Quality Services Division of Registry Partners.
The conference was very informative. If you are interested in more information about the conference please search #ACSQSC on Social Media.