Surgery department recognized

Surgery department recognized

During his annual State of the Department address Kevin Behrns, M.D., UF College of Medicine surgery chair, emphasized how a focus on quality and safety has led to a low and decreasing mortality index among surgical patients and a marked reduction in patient safety indicators. He also noted the department’s growing patient volumes. Together, these increases in quality outcomes and overall business point to an increase in the department’s national profile.

The surgery department’s quality committee meets monthly and includes representatives from each division. They return to their teams and share important information about trends, progress made and changes to be implemented. The committee also issues reports from a number of clinical databases and investigates and creates patient safety reports on specific cases.

Personnel from the department’s outpatient practices, UF Health Surgical Specialists and UF Health Plastic Surgery and Aesthetics Center have also contributed to the department’s quality outcomes. UF Health Physicians surgery clinic manager Tifany Hendricks, M.B.A., has worked with UF Health Shands clinical staff and UF patient coordinators to distribute post-op patient satisfaction surveys. Survey results shed light on opportunities for improvement in postsurgical care.

“These surveys are a collaboration between clinical staff and our department’s quality leaders to ensure patients are receiving the best care possible after surgery,” she said.

The department has seen significant increases in the number of surgical procedures, office visits and hospital admissions. The surgery faculty have also risen rapidly in rankings for funding, per the National Institutes of Health, from a spot in the mid-30s several years ago to No. 18 in 2014.

Michael Good, M.D., UF College of Medicine dean, attended the presentation.“Listening to Dr. Behrns’ remarks, it was clear to me that the UF department of surgery is rising as one of the preeminent surgical departments in the country,” he said. “My thanks go to each faculty, resident and staff member in the department for their dedicated work and impressive accomplishments.”