Progress Report
Reports of the Vice Chairmen
Operations and Quality Management
We have reorganized the Department of Surgery to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, team building, and resource sharing. At the same time we have significantly expanded our research and clinical activities.
The Department has recruited world-class physicians in transplantation, vascular surgery and oncology. We have also reorganized general surgery, combining a broad array of clinical domains. As a result, this division has increased its caseload and enhanced its reputation for providing the finest patient care.
In addition to our ongoing partnership with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, we have established joint programs in Minimal Access Surgery and Vascular Surgery with Weill Cornell Medical College. Our innovative system of network affiliations allows us to provide a range of services in pediatric, cardiac, vascular, bariatric and breast surgery to other hospitals.
The Department's new five-year plan calls for a 20 percent increase in faculty and support staff and a corresponding increase in our physical plant. Construction of NewYork-Presbyterian's new heart hospital begins at the end of 2005.
We have also designed eight new operating rooms, with a 30 percent increase in capacity, a state-of-the-art outpatient facility, and an upgraded research center that will allow us to maintain a comprehensive inventory of all our research studies.
Other areas of growth include surgical oncology and pediatric transplantation. We are presently expanding our Craniofacial Surgery Center and launching a Surgical Endocrine Center and Esophageal Cancer Program.
One of our primary goals is to create a disease-based approach to patient care, grouping patients suffering from the same illness in a single location. We have established a model unit at the Milstein Hospital and hope to expand this approach throughout the institution.
Our Quality Assurance Program documents outcomes in all six of our clinical divisions: Cardiothoracic Surgery, General Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, Liver and Transplantation Surgery, Vascular Surgery and Plastic Surgery. We are using a comprehensive surgical outcomes database designed by Dr. Henry Spotnitz to assemble a summary report that is reviewed bi-monthly and measured against national benchmarks.
It is noteworthy that our cardiac surgery outcomes are more favorable than the national averages, despite the fact that we employ innovative therapies in the treatment of high-risk patients. While the hospital has a case mix index of 1.9, the Department of Surgery has an index of 4.3, an indication that we care for an unusually high percentage of individuals with severe medical conditions.
Pediatric Heart Surgery led by Dr. Jan Quaegebeur, and Lung Transplantation under the guidance of Dr. Joshua Sonett, are noted for their superior outcomes. And in 2004, Columbia was ranked among the top institutions in the country for laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Our Quality Assurance team is working closely with experts in risk management to identify and review adverse outcomes. A second initiative will focus on disclosure of medical errors, and will also educate patients' families about the medical conditions of their loved ones in our care. In addition, we are taking an aggressive look at reduced hospital stays, assessing the effects of early discharge on the general health of our patients.
The Department of Surgery is one of ten participating in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP), a joint project of the Veterans Administration and American College of Surgeons.
I am proud to report that Columbia and its affiliate, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, continue to set high standards for customer satisfaction. The institution is consistently named one of the top hospitals in America by U.S. News and World Report and is on the magazine's Honor Roll of America's Best. We also issue our own divisional report cards using the Press-Ganey surveillance tools, recognized as the gold standard for healthcare rankings.
