The Military Health System Strategic Partnership ACS (MHSSPACS) hosted the 10th annual Military Health System Surgical Quality Consortium March 4–5 at ACS Headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. The 49 attendees included military surgeons and nurses representing military treatment facilities (MTFs) from around the world, including those in Guam, Japan, and Germany.
“In its 10th year, the Surgical Quality Consortium of the MHSSPACS continues to build on the founding vision of translating best practices of surgical quality established by the ACS into the Military Health System,” said Cmdr. Eric H. Twerdahl, MD, FACS, surgical quality officer at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and associate chair of surgery for quality at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, both in Bethesda, Maryland.
“We remain committed to ensuring that our nation’s warriors and their families receive safe and effective surgical care, whether they are at home, stationed overseas, or in harm’s way,” he said.
The event included a Civilian Keynote Address by Anton N. Sidawy, MD, MPH, FACS, a vascular surgeon and ACS President-Elect, who discussed the link between participation in surgical quality programs and excellence in clinical practice and described the creation of novel surgical quality verification programs.
The Military Keynote Address was delivered by Capt. Matthew D. Tadlock, MD, FACS, chair of the Committee on Surgical Combat Casualty Care for the Joint Trauma System. Dr. Tadlock described the imperative to provide reliable and high-quality surgical care in the operational environment, as well as the major operational challenges facing military surgery in the coming decade.
Attendees also heard about the practical applications of ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP), processes for operationalization at MTFs, and strategies for building QI programs from military and civilian perspectives.
“Looking back over the past 10 years, I’m proud of our accomplishments in realizing the initial vision of an effective surgical quality program, built on education, personnel development, and strong partnerships,” said Capt. (Ret.) Mollie Mullen, MBA, RN, US Navy NSQIP surgical clinical nurse reviewer lead and co-chair of the US Department of Defense NSQIP Steering Panel.
