UMC Garners National Recognition For Meritorious Outcomes from the American College of Surgeons

EL PASO, Texas – University Medical Center of El Paso joins 83 other hospitals across the country recently recognized by the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®) as having achieved meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2017.

As a participant in ACS NSQIP, UMC is required to track the outcomes of inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures and collect data that assesses patient safety and can be used to direct improvement in the quality of surgical care.

“This is a fantastic accomplishment, marking yet another milestone of excellence in patient safety and care,” said Jacob Cintron, President & CEO.

“We have come so far in raising the bar for the quality of care in our hospital, in our city and throughout the southwest region,” he added. “This recognition singles out UMC’s positive surgical outcomes and is something we can all be very proud of. Dr. (Alonso) Andrade, our NSQIP Surgical Champion, as well as Dr. Alan Tyroch (UMC’s Chief of Surgery and Trauma Medical Director, and Professor and Founding Chair of Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso), our entire surgical team of physicians, nurses, techs, and a focus on patient safety made this recognition possible.”
TTUHSC El Paso leaders also lauded UMC’s recognition for achieving outstanding surgical outcomes, which is a reflection of its commitment to quality and its partnership with the school and its physicians. As part of the partnership, faculty members in the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine (PLFSOM) see patients at UMC.
“This recognition makes clear that at UMC El Paso residents have access to the best surgical doctors and care possible,” said Richard Lange, M.D., M.B.A., president of TTUHSC El Paso and dean of the PLFSOM. “We are proud to have some of the best surgeons practicing at UMC and teaching students at TTUHSC El Paso.”

The ACS NSQIP recognition program commends a select group of hospitals for achieving a meritorious composite score in either an “All Cases” category or a category which includes only “High Risk” cases. Risk-adjusted data from the July 2018 ACS NSQIP Semiannual Report, which presents data from the 2017 calendar year, were used to determine which hospitals demonstrated meritorious outcomes.

UMC has been recognized on both the “All Cases” and “High Risk” Meritorious lists.

Each composite score was determined through a different weighted formula combining eight outcomes. The outcome performances related to patient management were in the following eight clinical areas: mortality; unplanned intubation; ventilator > 48 hours, renal failure; cardiac incidents (cardiac arrest and myocardial infarction); respiratory (pneumonia); SSI (surgical site infections-superficial and deep incisional and organ-space SSIs); or urinary tract infection.

The 83 commended hospitals achieved the distinction based on their outstanding composite quality score across the eight areas. Seventy-one hospitals were recognized on the “All Cases” list, and 71 hospitals were recognized on the “High Risk” list; the 71 hospitals represent 10 percent of the 708 calendar-year 2017 ACS NSQIP hospitals. Fifty-eight hospitals were recognized on both the “All Cases” and “High Risk” lists, 12 other hospitals were on just the “All Cases” list, and 13 other hospitals were on the “High Risk” list only – yielding 83 hospitals in total.

ACS NSQIP is the only nationally validated quality improvement program that measures and enhances the care of surgical patients. This program measures the actual surgical results 30 days postoperatively as well as risk-adjusts patient characteristics to compensate for differences among patient populations and acuity levels. The goal of ACS NSQIP is to reduce surgical morbidity (infection or illness related to a surgical procedure) and surgical mortality (death related to a surgical procedure) and to provide a firm foundation for surgeons to apply what is known as the “best scientific evidence” to the practice of surgery. Furthermore, when adverse effects from surgical procedures are reduced and/or eliminated, a reduction in health care costs follows. ACS NSQIP is a major program of the American College of Surgeons and is currently used in nearly 850 adult and pediatric hospitals.

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and to improve the care of surgical patients. The College has more than 80,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world.

About UMC: For 103 years, University Medical Center of El Paso (UMC) has been providing exceptional, high quality care for the entire El Paso region. As El Paso’s only not-for-profit, community-owned hospital and healthcare system, UMC is home to the region’s only Level I Trauma Center. UMC’s mission is to enhance the health and wellness of the El Paso community by making high quality, affordable healthcare services accessible to all, while providing healthcare-related education, research and innovation.

For more UMC News, go to: umcelpaso.org (News Releases)

About TTUHSC El Paso: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso offers students and residents a rich learning environment on the U.S.-Mexico border. Since 1973, students have gained experience in infectious disease, diabetes, migrant health and community-oriented primary care. Patients benefit from outstanding faculty knowledgeable in the latest developments in medical science. Through community partnerships, TTUHSC El Paso faculty also lend their skills to underserved areas lacking adequate health care.

For more information, visit elpaso.ttuhsc.edu.