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By Chris Brown

'one of the best in the world'

Hospital’s surgical program recognized by American College of Surgeons

Nov 19, 2021 | 4:15 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The Medicine Hat Regional Hospital is one of 90 hospitals in the world being lauded for its surgery successes.

The hospital is a participant in the American College of Surgeons` National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.

Sites in the program track the outcomes of inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures and collect data assessing patient safety, which is used to direct improvement in the quality of surgical care.

Lead site surgeon for the program Dr. Deb Jena says the recognition shows patients and families can be assured that even as the hospital is being commended now, surgical staff are always trying to improve

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“So say we are doing an appendicitis and how many patients are re-admitted in the hospital, and our re-admission data is exemplary in the world like we are in the top few per cent and then our infection rates are where it should be, so we know that we are doing OK,” he said. “Like everybody else, there is room for improvement.”

“So there are eight parameters that patients and communities should know that on each parameter we are continually assessing ourselves and every week we collect data from 40 surgeries and all this data gets assessed and people should know that our results are one of the best in the world.”

Alberta Health Services says the goals of the program are to reduce infection, illness or death related to a surgical procedure, and to provide a foundation for surgeons to apply best scientific evidence to the practice of surgery. The program is currently used in nearly 850 adult and pediatric hospitals around the world.

Jena says he reminds colleagues often that the entire team is working for the patients and the community.

“We’re lucky enough to be the frontline work for them so for the team it means we are working for the community, it’s producing results,” he said.

Jena adds getting recognition now means a lot to the surgery teams after so many surgeries had to be cancelled or postponed recently when the fourth wave of COVID-19 overwhelmed the health-care system.

Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre also received the recognition for 2020.