Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality Collaboration Releases ASC Tools
June 4, 2010 - The Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality Collaboration (ASC QC), a cooperative effort of organizations and companies interested in ensuring that ambulatory surgical center (ASC) quality data is appropriately developed and reported, launched a new campaign for “Advancing ASC Quality” today to support the industry’s focus on high quality care.
The campaign is focused on developing and disseminating ASC Tools for Infection Prevention (ASC TIPs)—essential resources for ASCs throughout the country, such as assessment tools, implementation aids, training materials, monitoring tools, workplace reminders and guidelines from leading authorities. The first toolkit in the ASC TIPs series, the Hand Hygiene Toolkit, was released today and is available to ASCs throughout the country.
ASCs are health care facilities that specialize in providing outpatient surgical care. More than 22 million surgeries and procedures, including endoscopic procedures and orthopedic, eye, and laparoscopic surgeries, are performed annually in over 5,200 Medicare-certified ASCs in the United States. The ASC QC includes ASC corporations, the ASC industry association, professional societies, and accrediting bodies.
“ASCs are an important component of the health care community offering superior patient outcomes and high levels of patient satisfaction,” said David Shapiro, M.D., Co- Chair of the Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality Collaboration, Chair of the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association and a Partner at the Ambulatory Surgery Company. “As an industry, we are committed to providing patients with the highest quality care in the safest environment possible and are working to support ASCs so that the industry can continue to advance ASC quality.”
“There has always been a focus on infection prevention in ASCs,” said Kim Wood, MD, Co-Chair of the Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality Collaboration and Director of National ASC Affairs for Surgical Care Affiliates. “The goal of the ASC TIPs initiative is to make infection prevention resources readily accessible to ASCs by bringing them together in one location.”
“The ASC TIPs initiative provides the industry with educational tools and best practice methods that can be applied at ASCs throughout the country,” said Donna Slosburg, RN, Executive Director of the Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality Collaboration. “The Hand Hygiene Toolkit is the first of the ASC TIPs to be released and more are currently being developed to address several topics of ASCs focus, such as point-of-care devices, injection practices, reprocessing, sterilization and high-level disinfection.”
For more information about the ASCQC visit www.ascquality.org. To access ASC TIPs visit http://www.ascquality.org/advancing_asc_quality.cfm.
About the Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality Collaboration
The ASC Quality Collaboration is dedicated to advancing high quality, physician-led and patient-centered care in ambulatory surgery centers and includes the following organizations: Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), Ambulatory Surgery Foundation, Ambulatory Surgical Centers of America (ASCOA), American College of Surgeons (ACS), American Osteopathic Association, Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (AOA/HFAP), AmSurg, Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), HCA: Ambulatory Surgery Division, Surgical Care Affiliates, The Joint Commission, National Surgical Care, Nueterra Healthcare, Symbion
Inc, and United Surgical Partners International (USPI).
For more information, contact ASC Quality Collaboration Executive Director Donna Slosburg at donnaslosburg@ascquality.org.
Media Contact:
Donna Slosburg
1-727-867-0072
donnaslosburg@ascquality.org
