Coney Island and Lincoln Hospitals Earn National Recognition as Surgical Safety Checklist Mentor Hospitals
Jun 02, 2009
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) today announced that two of its facilities, Coney Island Hospital and Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, have been named by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) as Surgical Safety Checklist Mentor Hospitals that will help guide other healthcare providers to improve communication, prevent errors and make surgery safer. The HHC hospitals were two of only eight hospitals in the country to be designated mentors for their leadership and success in adopting the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist.
“Mentor hospitals were chosen for their demonstrable success with implementation of the checklist and their willingness and ability to provide support, clinical expertise and advice to hospitals seeking help,” said HHC President Alan D. Aviles. “We’re proud that these two HHC hospitals and their involved staff are at the forefront of national leadership in promoting this important patient safety measure.”
Coney Island and Lincoln Hospitals were among the first of 11 New York City public hospitals to adopt the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist, becoming the first hospital system in New York City to do so in September 2008. Before surgery, HHC’s 220 surgeons, who perform approximately 87,000 surgeries each year, as well as other members of the surgical teams, verbally confirm and document more than a dozen safety standards, including noting the patient’s blood type and allergies to drugs; ensuring beta blockers were given to heart patients prior surgery; screening to prevent deep vein thrombosis after surgery; and accounting for all surgical instruments. After the surgery is completed, the surgeon, anesthesiologist and the nurses must sign the checklist.
The Institute has developed the network of mentor hospitals to support and expand this initiative across the country. Healthcare organizations throughout the U.S. and around the world have hailed use of the list. Health care professionals interested in contacting mentor hospitals for assistance can find a hospital near them by going to the Institute’s website at IHI.org.
Contact: Ian Michaels (HHC) (212) 788-3339.
About HHC
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is a $6.7 billion integrated healthcare delivery system with its own 420,000 member health plan, MetroPlusHealth, and is the largest municipal healthcare organization in the country. HHC serves 1.4 million New Yorkers every year and more than 475,000 are uninsured. HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, five skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 70 community based clinics. HHC Health and Home Care also provides in-home services for New Yorkers. HHC was the 2008 recipient of the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission’s John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality. For more information, visit www.nychhc.org/hhc or find us on facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or twitter.com/NYCHealthSystem.