Intermountain hospital recognized for vascular care
It's the first community hospital in the country, and fifth overall, to receive recognition from the American College of Surgeons.
Photo: Emir Memedovski/Getty Images
Intermountain Health St. Mary's Regional Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado has become the first community hospital in the country – and the fifth overall – to receive vascular verification from the American College of Surgeons and the Society for Vascular Surgery.
The 346-bed hospital was recognized for its vascular surgical quality, nursing care, patient and staff safety, timely patient access, education, and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, the hospital said.
The hospital called the verification program "a national evidence-driven, standardized pathway" for establishing and growing the quality improvement infrastructure of vascular programs.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT
The Vascular Verification project required input from more than 30 members of the hospital care team, including vascular surgeons, nurses, clinical leadership and support staff.
Spearheading the project was Dr. Tej Singh, medical director of vascular surgery at Intermountain St. Mary's Regional Hospital and a current participant in Harvard Medical School's Surgical Leadership Program.
Ben Smalley, chief operating officer for St. Mary's Regional Hospital, said in a statement that Singh was instrumental in building up the quality of the vascular program, which included work with the vascular quality initiative registry, national accreditation, care compliance, surgical leadership and mentoring.
"Dr. Singh's passion for vascular and endovascular care, and his team-based leadership have helped grow our program to deliver the highest-level of vascular care to our community," said Smalley.
ON THE RECORD
Singh, meanwhile, said he and his team developed the program around guidelines to ensure the hospital hit national benchmarks for care, quality, safety, outcomes and education.
"It places us on the national vascular surgery map and reflects our commitment to providing the best care for our patients in our 250-mile service area in Western Colorado," he said. "I'm grateful and honored to work with so many fine clinicians delivering this national recognition which will result in the best vascular care for our patients."
Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a HIMSS Media publication.
