What a first year it was for Wilmington Health’s Ambulatory Surgery Center, which picked up quite a few achievements of interest. Among them:
- The Joint Commission’s National Quality Approval Gold Seal
- Implementation of an orthopaedic total joint program
- A pacemaker generator exchange
Here are details of those accomplishments.
Joint Commission’s National Quality Approval Gold Seal
This accreditation acknowledges many accomplishments of the center. Among them, the Ambulatory Surgery Center provides quality care, reduces liability risks, streamlines operations, and more. It affirms Wilmington Health’s compliance with the highest national safety and quality of care standards.
The commission also recognizes improvement activities. Wilmington Health ranked highest in:
- Communication
- Patient safety
- Quality improvement processes
The Total Joint Program
Wilmington Health provides care for total knee and hip replacement. This includes preoperative and postoperative rehabilitation. Comprehensive joint programs are often very expensive and take years to launch. Yet, Wilmington Health established its total joint program in less than six months.
Wilmington Health has performed many total hip and total knee surgeries without complications.
ASC Administrator Robert Colon said the initiative’s accomplishments in year 1 are something to be proud of.
“Surgeries in the ASC reduce the total cost of care for outpatient surgeries,” Colon said. “It provides high-quality care, as indicated by the outstanding patient feedback received.”
One patient said the center was “gorgeous” and “state-of-the-art.”
“My experience was almost like visiting a 5-star hotel where I took a good nap,” this patient said. “I’m super appreciative of the nurses and physicians who took excellent care of me.”
Pacemaker generator exchange
Last fall, the center became one of the first in the state to perform a pacemaker generator exchange. This procedure is a battery replacement when the pacing device is at the end of its service life.
Wilmington Health performs same-day general procedures and surgeries in many specialties through the Ambulatory Surgery Center, such as:
- Bariatric
- Colorectal
- Foot and ankle
- Gynecology
- Interventional pain and regenerative medicine
- Orthopaedic
- Plastic
- Urology
- Vascular
The newly opened Ambulatory Surgery Center is one facet of TRUE Care at Wilmington Health, which has served Southeastern North Carolina since 1971. This physician-owned primary care and multi-specialty practice provides complete and collaborative patient care.
Wilmington Health is also committed to implementing collaborative, evidence-based medicine. This helps them to provide the highest quality of care to their patients.