Children’s Hospital Los Angeles leadership and team members gather in front of the newly
installed American College of Surgeons Surgical Quality Partner plaque. From left-to-right:
Christopher Gayer, Chief, Division of Pediatric Surgery; Paul S. Viviano, President and CEO;
Nancy Bridges, Director, Perioperative Services; James Stein, Senior Vice President and Chief
Medical Officer.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Recognized as National Surgical Quality Partner by American College of Surgeons
LOS ANGELES, November 21, 2023: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) has been recognized as a National Surgical Quality Partner (SQP) by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) for its long-standing dedication to the highest standards in surgical patient care. The noteworthy achievement underscores CHLA’s continued commitment to improving surgical procedures and approaches, ensuring the best possible care for its pediatric surgery patients.
The ACS Surgical Quality Partnership aims to recognize and celebrate hospitals that adhere to the most rigorous standards in surgical quality, which are based on clinical evidence and more than 100 years of ACS’s expertise. The SQP designation lets patients know that Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is dedicated to relentless self-improvement and has been verified through a detailed and rigorous review from ACS.
“We are immensely proud to be named an ACS Surgical Quality Partner,” said James Stein, MD, MSc, FACS, FAAP, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “It is through the collective hard work and dedication of our team of surgeons and clinical partners in anesthesia, critical care, neonatology and a broad array of pediatric sub-specialists that we have achieved multiple American College of Surgeons designations over the years. This distinction is further validation that our patients and families can confidently trust that they are receiving the highest quality surgical care at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.”
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles was verified by the ACS as a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center in 1993 and holds the distinction of being the only freestanding Pediatric Level I ACS verified Trauma Center in Los Angeles County.
Other noteworthy designations CHLA has received from the ACS over the last 25 years include:
- Trauma Quality Improvement Hospital for implementing specified training and standardized and risk-adjusted data to best practices while participating in the Trauma Quality Improvement Program since 2014
- Pediatric National Surgical Quality Improvement Hospital for demonstrating a commitment to quality improvement in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program - Pediatric since 2016
"ACS Quality programs are grounded in more than a century of experience and participation is an important measure of a hospital’s surgical quality. As an ACS Surgical Quality Partner, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has shown a commitment to providing the best possible patient care, evaluating that care in a rigorous fashion, and dedicating themselves to continuous self-improvement," said ACS Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ Department of Surgery forms one of the largest pediatric multispecialty medical and surgical groups in the United States and performs nearly 16,000 surgical procedures annually across a total of 10 divisions staffed by board-certified doctors. CHLA’s surgical specialties have received national recognition against nearly 200 children-centered institutions for clinical expertise and measurable patient outcomes from U.S. News & World Report including Cardiology & Heart Surgery (No. 13), Diabetes & Endocrinology (No. 6), Gastroenterology & GI Surgery (No. 5), Neonatology (No. 6), Nephrology (No. 24), Neurology & Neurosurgery (No. 13), Orthopedics (No. 2), Pulmonary & Lung Surgery (No. 14), and Urology (No. 6).
About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Founded in 1901, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is at the forefront of pediatric medicine and is the largest provider of hospital care for children in California. Children’s Hospital is home to renowned experts who work together across disciplines to deliver inclusive and compassionate care, and drive advances that set pediatric standards across the nation and around the globe. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles delivers a level of care that is among the best in the world for a truly diverse population of children. The Hospital is consistently ranked in the top 10 in the nation on U.S. News & World Report’s Honor Roll of Best Children’s Hospitals, including No. 1 in California and No. 1 in the Pacific U.S. region. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles embraces the hospital’s mission to create hope and build healthier futures. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is among the top 10 children’s hospitals for National Institutes of Health funding. The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles supports the full continuum of research, allowing physicians and scientists to translate discoveries into treatments and bring answers to families faster. The pediatric academic medical center also is home to one of the largest training programs for pediatricians in the United States. And the hospital’s commitment to building strong communities is evident in CHLA’s efforts to fight food insecurity, enhance health education and literacy, and introduce more people to careers in health care. To learn more, follow CHLA on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and X, formerly known as Twitter, and visit CHLA.org/blog.
About the American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 88,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. “FACS” designates that a surgeon is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
