Lurie Children’s Excellence in Surgery Recognized

American College of Surgeons verification demonstrates commitment to providing optimal surgical care for children who require surgery 

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has for the third time received Level I verification by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Children’s Surgery Verification Quality Improvement Program (CSV). Lurie Children’s is the only children’s hospital in Illinois to have this designation, which it has had since 2016.

“We are proud and honored to earn this recognition,” said Dr. Mehul Raval, Vice Chair of Quality and Safety for the Department of Surgery and Division Head of Pediatric Surgery at Lurie Children’s. “Quality and safety are at the core of everything we do for the patients we have the privilege of serving.” 

“Lurie Children’s re-verification as a Level I surgery center reflects proficiency in multispecialty collaboration with our partners in pediatric anesthesia,” said Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Thomas Inge.

“Patients and their families can feel assured that Lurie Children’s is proficient in pediatric surgical care at all levels.” 

The CSV program was developed to improve the quality of children’s surgical care by creating a system that allows for a prospective match of every child’s individual surgical needs with a care environment that has optimal pediatric resources. The program is based upon recognized standards meant to achieve high-quality patient outcomes for children’s surgical care. CSV standards ensure that children facing surgery receive care under a multidisciplinary program with quality improvement and safety processes, data collection and appropriate resources provided to them as patients at the hospital.  

Lurie Children’s commitment to quality care begins with appropriately trained staff and leadership from surgeons who participate in meetings throughout the year to review the center’s surgical outcomes. The surgical team seeks continuous improvement to enhance the structure, process and outcomes of the center. 

To become a verified center, Lurie Children’s met essential criteria for staffing, training, and facility infrastructure and protocols for care, ensuring its ability to appropriately care for children who are surgical patients. The center also participates in a national data registry that yields semiannual reports on the quality of its processes and outcomes, thus identifying opportunities for continuous quality improvement.

As a CSV-verified hospital, Lurie Children’s also becomes an ACS Surgical Quality Partner. Being a Surgical Quality Partner signifies a hospital’s dedication to consistently improving procedures and approaches, while maintaining a critical eye on process at every step. The Surgical Quality Partner designation lets patients know Lurie Children’s is dedicated to quality and relentless self-improvement and has been verified or accredited by the ACS. Patients can trust that the care they receive at Surgical Quality Partner hospitals adheres to the most rigorous standards in surgical quality.  

"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, Lurie Children’s has shown a commitment 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. 

Learn more about the ACS CSV program.

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is a nonprofit organization committed to providing access to exceptional care for every child. It is ranked as one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. Lurie Children’s is the pediatric training ground for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Supported by philanthropy, the Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities is the hub for all Lurie Children’s community-focused initiatives. 

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.