Arkansas Children’s Hospital Surgery Team Attains Elite Level 1 Verification from ACS

Published date: June 11, 2019

Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) has been verified as a Level 1 Children’s Surgical Center by the American College of Surgeons through its Children’s Surgery Verification Quality Improvement Program (ACS CSV). ACH becomes one of only 17 children’s hospitals in the United States and the only hospital in Arkansas to receive this highest level of designation.

LITTLE ROCK, AR. (June 11, 2019) – Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) has been verified as a Level 1 Children’s Surgical Center by the American College of Surgeons through its Children’s Surgery Verification Quality Improvement Program (ACS CSV). ACH becomes one of only 17 children’s hospitals in the United States and the only hospital in Arkansas to receive this highest level of designation.

Level 1 verification, valid for three years, recognizes surgery centers whose quality improvement programs have enhanced the quality of children’s surgeries, prevented complications, reduced costs and, most importantly, saved lives.

The distinction shows Arkansas Children’s Hospital:

Has a comprehensive staff of medical and surgical specialists ready to care for children 24/7

Offers wide-ranging resources to address the most complex conditions

Presents ongoing education for families, pediatricians and others

Participates in a robust national data registry yielding semiannual reports of quality

Engages in academic research that ensures evidence-based best practices are used at the bedside with patients

The ACS CSV program was developed to improve the quality of children’s surgical care by ensuring every child’s individual needs can be met by resources available at verified centers.

“This verification means families are turning to the highest quality surgical program when they entrust Arkansas Children’s Hospital to care for their children,” said Arkansas Children’s Hospital Senior Vice President & Chief Medical Officer Greg Sharp, MD. “Verification is a rigorous process and ensures our surgical program meets uncompromising standards.”

Verified centers must meet criteria outlined in the standards document, Optimal Resources for Children’s Surgical Care 2015. CSV standards ensure children facing surgery receive care under a multidisciplinary program with quality improvement and safety processes, data collection, and appropriate resources provided to them as patients at the hospital.

The CSV program is based on other nationally recognized American College of Surgeons quality improvement programs that have measurably improved surgical quality and have prevented complications, reduced costs and saved lives.

To become a verified center, Arkansas Children’s Hospital met essential criteria for staffing, training, and facility infrastructure and protocols for care, ensuring its ability to appropriately care for children who are surgical patients. The center also participates in a national data registry that yields semiannual reports on the quality of its processes and outcomes, identifying opportunities for continuous quality improvement.

After submitting an application, ACH underwent an extensive site visit by an ACS team of surveyors, including experienced pediatric surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses who review the center's structure, process and clinical outcomes data.

About Arkansas Children’s

Arkansas Children's, Inc. is the only healthcare system in the state solely dedicated to caring for Arkansas' 710,000 children, giving the organization a unique ability to shape the landscape of pediatric care in Arkansas and transform the health of children throughout the region. The private, non-profit organization includes two pediatric hospitals, a pediatric research institute and USDA nutrition center, a philanthropic foundation, a nursery alliance, statewide clinics, and many education and outreach programs.

Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) is a 336-bed, Magnet-recognized facility in Little Rock operating the state’s only Level I pediatric trauma center; the state's only burn center; the state's only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit; the state's only pediatric intensive care unit; the state’s only pediatric surgery program with Level 1 verification from the American College of Surgeons; and the state's only nationally recognized pediatric transport program. Additionally, ACH is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in five pediatric subspecialties (2019-2020): Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics and Pulmonology. Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW), the first and only pediatric hospital in the Northwest Arkansas region, opened in Springdale in early 2018. ACNW operates a 24-bed inpatient unit; a surgical unit with five operating rooms; outpatient clinics offering over 20 subspecialties; diagnostic services; imaging capabilities; occupational therapy services; and Northwest Arkansas' only pediatric emergency department, equipped with 30 exam rooms. Generous philanthropic and volunteer engagement has sustained Arkansas Children's since it began as an orphanage in 1912, and today ensures the system can fundamentally transform the health of children in Arkansas and beyond. To learn more, visit archildrens.org.

About the American College of Surgeons

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational association of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical education and practice and to improve the quality of care for surgical patients. Its achievements have placed it at the forefront of American surgery and have made the College an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 80,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world.

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