ACS/SVS Vascular Verification Quality Program Verifies First Four Hospitals

June 14, 2023—The American College of Surgeons (ACS), with the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), announced the verification of the first four hospitals as part of the Vascular Verification Program (Vascular-VP), which ACS and SVS launched in March 2023. Vascular-VP is an ACS Quality Program developed with SVS that provides an evidence-driven, standardized pathway for instituting and growing a quality improvement and clinical care infrastructure within a hospital’s vascular program.

According to ACS, hospitals that receive verification have shown a commitment to improving outcomes and delivering the best treatment for patients receiving vascular surgical and interventional care in an inpatient setting, noted the press release. Hospitals that are interested in becoming verified centers and continuing the quality improvement journey of their vascular service are encouraged to apply online here.

Vascular-VP offers two levels of participation for inpatient hospitals relative to the scope of care provided: Comprehensive Inpatient and Verified Inpatient.

The newly verified hospitals, all of which are designated as Comprehensive Inpatient centers, are the following:

• Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York
• BaylorScott&White The Heart Hospital—Plano in Plano, Texas
• Keck Hospital of USC at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California
• University of California San Francisco Medical Center in San Francisco, California

R. Clement Darling III, MD, who is Chief of Vascular Surgery at Albany Medical Center, and Chair of the inpatient subcommittee of the Vascular Standards Committee that helped develop Vascular-VP, commented in the ACS press release, “This verification has allowed us to have the support of the American College of Surgeons and the Society for Vascular Surgery in providing the best care to vascular patients. The most important benefit patients get from this program is that they know the hospital in which they are receiving care is committed to quality and has demonstrated they meet clinical care standards for vascular surgery. It’s not just their own hospital evaluating itself, it’s outside institutions and surgeons who have expertise in evaluating centers.”

To become verified, these hospitals have met the standards outlined in “Optimal Resources for Vascular Surgery and Interventional Care (2023 Inpatient Standards),” available online here, which addresses elements of vascular surgical care and quality.

Clifford Y. Ko, MD, Director, ACS Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care, stated in the press release, “These four hospitals have, first as pilot sites and now as verified centers, established themselves as leaders in vascular care. They have paved the way for many more hospitals to join us in their journey to continuous improvement by using data and ACS standards and resources to deliver the best possible patient care.”

The press release advised that as Vascular-VP–verified hospitals, these centers also become ACS Surgical Quality Partners. Being an ACS Surgical Quality Partner signifies a hospital’s dedication to consistently improving procedures and approaches while maintaining a critical eye on process at every step. The designation of Surgical Quality Partner lets patients know a hospital is dedicated to quality and relentless self-improvement and has been verified or accredited by the ACS. Patients can trust that the care they receive at Surgical Quality Partner hospitals adheres to the most rigorous standards in surgical quality.

“We welcome these centers into the ACS Quality Programs,” stated ACS Executive Director & CEO Patricia L. Turner, MD, in the press release. “They have shown their commitment to delivering the highest quality care, evaluating that care in a rigorous fashion, and dedicating themselves to continuous improvement.”