Childrens Surgery Verification

The American College of Surgeons Children’s Surgery Verification Improvement Program, or the CSV Program, addresses the surgical care of infants and children. Our goal is to bring pediatric surgical care to every child in need in North America.

Hospitals that participate in one of our Quality Programs, including the CSV Program, earn the distinction as an ACS Surgical Quality Partner (SQP).

Why Is the CSV Program Important?

A large portion of children’s surgical care is provided in non-specialized environments. The CSV Program addresses these gaps, from relatively simple to high-risk and complex procedures.

Specialized environments can lead to better clinical outcomes for more complex procedures:

Congenital heart surgery¹
Trauma care²
Neonatal surgery³

For achieving optimal outcomes at the population level for some less complex pediatric surgical procedures,⁴ including:

Intussusception
Pyloric stenosis
Appendicitis under 5 years of age

References

Pasquali SK, Dimick JB, Ohye RG. Time for a More Unified Approach to Pediatric Health Care Policy? The Case of Congenital Heart Care. JAMA. 2015;314(16):1689–1690. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.10166
Sathya C, Alali AS, Wales PW, et al. Mortality Among Injured Children Treated at Different Trauma Center Types. JAMA Surg. 2015;150(9):874–881. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2015.1121
Kastenberg ZJ, Lee HC, Profit J, Gould JB, Sylvester KG. Effect of Deregionalized Care on Mortality in Very Low-Birth-Weight Infants With Necrotizing Enterocolitis. JAMA Pediatr. 2015;169(1):26–32. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.2085
Cosper GH, Hamann MS, Stiles A, Nakayama DK. Hospital characteristics affect outcomes for common pediatric surgical conditions. Am Surg. 2006 Aug;72(8):739-45.

Childrens Surgery Verification Standards

Optimal Resources for Children's Surgical Care details the principles regarding resource standards, QI, safety processes, and data collection.

ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Pediatric

ACS NSQIP Pediatric helps hospitals collect reliable clinical data and compare their surgical outcomes with the outcomes of other participants.

Consultation Visit

The Children’s Surgery Verification (CSV) Consultation Visit is designed to assist hospitals in evaluating their readiness to apply for verification.

Quality and Safety Conference

Register today for the 2024 ACS Quality and Safety Conference, July 18–21, to join with leaders in surgical quality improvement.

Program Resources

Resources for hospitals and institutions interested in the Children's Surgery Verification program.

Quality Resources

Quality Programs

ACS Quality Framework

The ACS Quality Framework is a set of criteria that provides guidance to help all hospitals successfully complete their quality improvement projects.

Quality Programs

Case Studies

Review case studies from various ACS quality program participants and how they can apply to your program.

Education

Quality Improvement Education

The ACS is committed to equipping every healthcare provider with the basic knowledge and skills to start on the path toward quality improvement.

Children’s Surgery Verification

ACS Quality Portal

Apply