A program designed to improve emergency general surgery across the U.S. has recognized Peoria’s OSF Saint Francis Medical Center for providing quality care and safety with non-traumatic operations.
Saint Francis is the first hospital in Illinois, and 18th in the nation, to earn verification from the American College of Surgeons [ACS] through its Emergency General Surgery Verification Program.
“Achieving this verification is a meaningful accomplishment for our hospital and reflects the commitment of our entire team to providing high-quality care for patients who need emergency surgery,” Dr. Vishnu Mani, vice chairman of the Saint Francis surgery department, said in a media release.
Mani is also the hospital’s medical director for emergency general surgery and a clinical assistant professor of surgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria [UICOMP]. He says the honor highlights the surgery department staff’s “teamwork, expertise and dedication” in providing patient care.
“From executive leadership to our front-line teams, we are aligned in our commitment to providing coordinated, high-quality care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” said Mani.
With emergency general surgery among the most common types of care a hospital handles, the ACS verification program helps healthcare organizations in identifying and responding to common conditions, such as appendicitis and gallbladder disease, that are unrelated to a specific trauma event.
Verified hospitals offer dedicated services that put into practice the highest standards in emergency general surgery. The accreditation is based on other ACS quality improvement programs and was developed in coordination with the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma.
“ACS quality programs are grounded in more than a century of experience, and participation is an important measure of a hospital’s surgical quality,” said Dr. Patricia Turner, ACS executive director and CEO.
“As an ACS Surgical Quality Partner, OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center has shown a commitment to providing the best possible patient care, evaluating that care in a rigorous fashion, and dedicating themselves to continuous self-improvement.”
