JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program has recognized Brooke Army Medical Center for achieving meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care for three years running, ranking the hospital among the top 10 percent of participating hospitals for surgical care.
“Earning meritorious recognition three years in a row clearly shows the dedication and expertise in BAMC that drives perpetual improvement of the quality surgical care delivered by the San Antonio Market,” said Air Force Col. Patrick Osborn, Surgeon-in-Chief, San Antonio Military Health System, and BAMC Deputy Commander for Surgical Services.
BAMC is one of 90 ACS NSQIP participating hospitals across the nation that have achieved meritorious recognition for surgical patient care and is the only one in San Antonio. Additionally, BAMC was among 71 hospitals on its “High Risk” Meritorious list, and the only Army military treatment facility.
As a Level I Trauma Center, “BAMC is unique within the Department of Defense,” Osborn said. “This was particularly true in 2020 when we provided this exemplary level of care while also supporting pandemic missions across the nation and military missions around the world.
“This amazing team also increased support to our community by accepting additional trauma patients,” he added. “Not only did we provide superb surgical care to our beneficiaries and civilian patients, but this team was also instrumental in sustaining the regional trauma and emergency response system for Southwest Texas.”
Achieving meritorious recognition means that BAMC ranks in the top 10 percent of over 706 hospitals on this composite surgical quality score.
“We are very proud of this outstanding accomplishment,” said Brig. Gen. Clinton Murray, BAMC commanding general. “It is a testament to the ongoing commitment our entire staff has to provide safe, quality care for our patients.”
Osborn agrees. “The recognition of excellence for ‘High-Risk’ patients exhibits the unique knowledge and skills institutionalized within the San Antonio Market. I am proud and elated that this comprehensive care team garnered the recognition they deserve,” he said.
“At each step in their treatment, our patients, military and civilian, receive the best surgical care DOD and this community offer,” Osborn added.
As a participant in ACS NSQIP, BAMC is required to track the outcomes of inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures and collect data that directs patient safety and the quality of surgical care improvements.
The ACS NSQIP recognition program commends a select group of hospitals for achieving a meritorious composite score in either an “All Cases” category or a category that includes only “High Risk” cases. Risk-adjusted data from the July 2021 ACS NSQIP Semiannual Report, which presents data from the 2020 calendar year, was used to determine which hospitals demonstrated meritorious outcomes.
Each composite score was determined through a different weighted formula combining eight outcomes. The outcome performances related to patient management were in the following clinical areas: mortality, unplanned intubation, prolonged ventilator use, renal failure, cardiac incidents including cardiac arrest and myocardial infarction; respiratory illness such as pneumonia; surgical site infections-superficial and deep incisional and organ-space; or urinary tract infection.
ACS NSQIP is the only nationally validated quality improvement program that measures and enhances the care of surgical patients. This program measures the actual surgical results 30 days postoperatively as well as risk adjusts patient characteristics to compensate for differences among patient populations and acuity levels.
The goal of ACS NSQIP is to reduce surgical morbidity, which is infection or illness related to a surgical procedure, and surgical mortality, which is death related to a surgical procedure, and to provide a firm foundation for surgeons to apply what is known as the “best scientific evidence” to the practice of surgery.
“BAMC is committed to providing our patients the best quality surgical care every step of the way,” Murray said. “These results exemplify that commitment.”