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Midwestern

Grey Bruce Health surgery outcomes rate high

Surgery outcomes at Grey Bruce Health Services have been rated among the top performers in the world.

The American College of Surgeons has recognized the local health care provider for achieving "meritorious status" for surgical outcomes in 2018.

Grey Bruce Health Services is one of 88 hospitals worldwide to be recognized through the National Surgical Quality Improvement program. It's a world-renowned scientific approach to reducing infection, illness and death related to surgical procedures

General surgeon Dr. Alan Lozon said it puts the surgery program in an elite category of North American hospitals.

"This recognition puts the GBHS surgery program in an elite category of North American hospitals that offer a very high standard of care, and excellent results for patients undergoing surgery,” said the champion of the program. “I am extremely proud of the Operating Room team, and the staff and surgeons involved in every step of the surgery patient’s journey from admission through to discharge.”

Participating hospitals are required to track eight outcomes 30 days after a patient has had surgery. Based on the results, hospitals are recognized for their achievements in either an “All Cases” category or for only “High Risk” patient surgeries. GBHS achieved recognition for all cases measured.

“GBHS is by far the smallest of the 11 Canadian hospitals to achieve this meritorious status,” said Dr. Bob Severs, GBHS chief of Staff. “When it comes to surgery, our patients can expect to get the same great care as other hospitals who also achieved this recognition – including the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, the Cleveland Clinic, and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre here in Ontario. You can’t get rural health care better than that.”

GBHS has been participating in NSQIP since 2014. GBHS reported outcomes based on the eight clinical areas every six months, and the data allows staff and surgeons to implement quality improvement initiatives to improve results and learn from the experiences of other participating hospitals.

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