Operation: Safe Surgery PDF Print E-mail

Overview

Op_Safe_Surgery.jpgThe South Carolina Hospital Association and PHT Services, Ltd. recently unveiled an initiative entitled Operation: Safe Surgery, a Program of the Every Patient Counts Partnership. In short, this initiative is our commitment to facilitate the implementation of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist. This endeavor comes at the urging of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI), which debuted the checklist during its annual National Forum in December 2008.

Encouragingly, data suggest that at least half of all surgical complications are avoidable. Most notably, a special article was recently released in The New England Journal of Medicine concluding that implementation of the World Health Organization’s Surgical Safety Checklist in eight hospitals throughout the world between October 2007 and September 2008 resulted in postoperative complication rates falling 36% on average, with death rates falling by a similar amount.

The first phase of this project is to establish a lead surgical team to evaluate the checklist in 100% of the acute care hospitals in SC. The second phase will focus on providing a half-day crew resource management/aviation safety-based teamwork training program for surgical teams state-wide. Nurses and physicians play a crucial role in introducing and implementing the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist in operating rooms and working together to create the safest environment for surgical care.

The kickoff of Phase 2 of Operation: Safe Surgery, where we will work with your hospitals to sustain and spread the use of the surgical safety checklist and its key components, began at the end of May. As you know, during this phase we are partnering with the Human Performance Group, led by founder, Michael Farnsworth, to provide a series of aviation safety/crew resource management-based training sessions for surgical teams in various regions across the state. Registration is open to all surgical teams (i.e. OR, L&D, Outpatient, etc.). This program is sponsored by the SCHA Every Patient Counts partnership through The Duke Endowment. Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for registration. Additional sessions are currently being scheduled in other locations around the state.

We hope you and your hospital system will join the Sprint and become an active participant in South Carolina’s Operation: Safe Surgery Program. For more information please contact Chris Howe at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Dr. Foster at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Schedule of Training

Overview:
Operation: Safe Surgery, is a free initiative sponsored by the Every Patient Counts Partnership and led by PHT Services, Ltd (PHTS) and the South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA), is focused on creating a statewide system of surgical safety built on teamwork and open communication. Much of the work to date for this initiative (i.e. Phase I) has been focused on implementation of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist by all eligible SC acute care hospitals. The current phase of this initiative, Phase II, is focused on providing crew resource management (CRM) training to surgical teams.

Learning Objectives/Topics:

  • Learn communication techniques that will stimulate dialogue between team members and reduce the risk of human error in diagnosis, treatment and prescriptions.
  • Learn basic team formation and group leadership skills necessary to meet the demands of high-stress, high-risk environments.
  • Leave armed with a better understanding of their relationship to the team, how to overcome the limitations associated with the human element, and how to identify risks to patient safety

Space is limited in each session, so if you would like to register a surgical team (please include physicians, surgery staff, anesthesia, and nursing representatives) from your hospital please do so by e-mailing your contact information (name, title, organization & e-mail address) to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it no later than two (3) business day prior to the session of your choice.

  • July 14, 2009 from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - Laurens County Health Care System, Clinton, SC
  • July 16, 2009 from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - Carolinas Hospital System, Florence, SC
  • July 17, 2009 from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. - McLeod Regional Medical Center, Florence, SC
  • July 22, 2009 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. - the Regional Medical Center, Orangeburg, SC
  • August 12, 2009 from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - Palmetto Health Richland, Columbia, SC
  • August 13, 2009 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. - Palmetto Health Richland, Columbia, SC
  • August 26, 2009 from 1:30-5:00 p.m. - The Village at Pelham, Greer, SC

Tools & Resources

Supporting Literature