During the Opening Ceremony at Clinical Congress, ACS Executive Director and CEO Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS, previewed the College’s new quality campaign, which will build on ACS’s more than 100 years as the preeminent voice on surgical quality.
The ACS “Power of Quality” Campaign will reignite a conversation about surgical quality—the kind of quality that saves and improves lives.
“We want our surgeons to always feel empowered to do what’s right for our patients, and when we ground our work in quality improvement and push ourselves and our institutions to get better, then that’s the power of quality in action,” Dr. Turner said.
The dynamic, multiyear campaign will empower all stakeholders on the quality journey—driving greater adoption of ACS Quality Programs with more hospitals, increasing surgeon engagement, advocating for the use of ACS quality metrics in public policy, and ensuring that patients recognize the excellence of ACS programs and seek care from its surgical quality partners (SQPs).
“Being a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons means something and being an ACS-verified or accredited hospital means something,” Dr. Turner said.
To help hospitals promote their participation in ACS Quality Programs, Dr. Turner unveiled the new Surgical Quality Partner diamond as an essential component of the campaign. The College created this visual symbol to represent the ACS standards of quality and drive recognition of the leadership role that the ACS plays in surgical quality.
Since Clinical Congress, 28 hospitals participating in the ACS Quality Verification Program—the College’s recently launched comprehensive, standardized program for establishing, measuring, and improving hospital-wide quality infrastructure—have received a toolkit to use in their promotional materials, emphasizing their involvement in the program.
The ACS will provide the diamond and a range of communications assets broadly in early 2023, enabling the 2,500+ hospitals that participate in at least one ACS Quality Program to highlight their participation in the ACS.
The SQP diamond has been tested and was received more favorably than the U.S. World & News Report’s ranking marks. As the public becomes more aware of the impact of the role of the ACS in surgical quality improvement, which is a key component of the campaign, the aim is for the diamond to act as an influential representation of a hospital’s commitment to patient outcomes.
“We want our campaign to inspire, energize, engage, and reestablish the ACS as the preeminent voice and expert for surgical quality,” Dr. Turner said.
The Bulletin will have more to share in the coming months as the Power of Quality campaign formally begins and evolves. Visit facs.org/quality to learn more.
