Verde Valley Medical Center actively participates in the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA), a reporting initiative that provides information on the quality of care in hospitals that voluntarily report data for selected clinical topics. HQA looks at outcome measures for a number of healthcare topics, one of which is the prevention of surgical site infection (SSI).

The Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) is a national quality partnership of organizations focused on improving surgical care with the goal of eliminating surgical complications.

Some of the indicators monitored and documented through SCIP include:

• correct antibiotic given as determined by published guidelines
• antibiotic administered up to 60 minutes prior to surgical incision
• antibiotic discontinued within 24 hours of surgical end time
• thermoregulation (appropriate body temperature) while in post anesthesia care/recovery
• hair removal using clippers instead of razors (reduces risk of nicks, which create a portal of entry for bacteria)

The Right Team for the Job At VVMC, the SCIP team includes the vice president of Medical Affairs (M.D.), chief of Surgery (M.D.), medical director of Anesthesia (M.D.), director of Quality (R.N.), director of Surgical Services (R.N.), director of Pharmacy (R.Ph.), assistant director of Surgical Services (R.N.), Quality analyst (R.N.), Infection Control practitioner (R.N.), Quality abstractor and an additional registered nurse. This group meets monthly to review current initiatives, VVMC compliance with initiatives, discrepancies and any new initiatives that are scheduled to be added. SCIP reports are forwarded to the departments of Surgery and Quality Council as well as the Infection Control Committee and the Board of Directors.

“VVMC’s Quality department checks adherence to our indicators by auditing charts upon patient discharge to be sure best practices have been followed,” James Bleicher, vice president for Medical Affairs, said. “The state also periodically audits our data to confirm we are correctly reporting information. There is a predetermined level at which validation must agree for VVMC to be reimbursed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

At VVMC, we measure our data because improving outcomes and providing the best care possible is our ultimate goal.”

For more information on Quality, be sure to visit our Quality section online.