The Bristol Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital said it recently achieved the first-ever Surgical Review Corp. accreditation as a Center of Excellence in Pediatric and Robotic Surgery in the U.S.
BMSCH, part of the RWJBarnabas Health Children’s Health Network, is a state-designated children’s hospital and anchor institution of New Jersey’s only pediatric academic health campus through its partnership with the Rutgers Child Health Institute.
This designation recognizes BMSCH’s commitment to a high standard of delivery of quality patient care and safety, and means that BMSCH has met nationally and internationally recognized standards.
Health care facilities and surgeons seeking SRC accreditation undergo an extensive assessment and inspection process to ensure they meet SRC’s proven standards and requirements. These requirements include surgical volumes, facility equipment, clinical pathways and standardized operating procedures. Emphasis is also placed on patient education and continuous quality assessment. Inspectors educate staff in the accredited departments on best practices to help an organization improve its care and services.
“BMSCH has long been a leader in providing children and families access to the highest-quality, most advanced surgical interventions with a focus on precision and minimally invasive techniques that preserve healthy tissue in growing bodies,” Dr. Joseph Barone, professor and chief of pediatric urology at BMSCH and at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, said. “This accreditation affirms our multidisciplinary, team-based approach to driving quality and improved outcomes achieved in the adult practice from robotic surgery to also bring benefit to children undergoing complex procedures. The benefits are clearly demonstrated in urologic surgery and extend to many modalities.”
BMSCH offers a wide range of advanced minimally invasive urologic robotic surgery techniques under the leadership of Barone.
For example, BMSCH is one of only 10 programs nationally to offer single-port robotic surgery for teens. Single-port surgery requires only one incision instead of four to complete a typical laparoscopic procedure. BMSCH also performs minimally invasive same-day surgery procedures for major reconstructive surgery of the urinary tract. These include pyeloplasty and ureteral reimplantation, which previously required up to a five-day post-operative hospital stay. BMSCH’s Robotic Surgery Team also performs nephrectomies using minimally invasive techniques.
BMSCH faculty and community surgeons perform a broad range of surgical procedures spanning the following specialties: urology, orthopedics, orthopedics-spine, orthopedics-trauma, general surgery, neurosurgery, otorhinolaryngology, dental and ophthalmology.
“This accreditation is a perfect example of our academic medicine driving evidence-based practice from adult care into pediatrics,” Bill Arnold, CEO and president of RWJUH, said. “This accreditation confirms that the benefits of minimally invasive procedures can be delivered and will drive better outcomes for children and sets an example for pediatric institutions nationally to follow and refine.”
