The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) has recognized Newton-Wellesley Hospital as one of 26 ACS NSQIP participating hospitals in the United States that have achieved exemplary outcomes for surgical patient care. As a participant in ACS NSQIP, Newton-Wellesley Hospital is required to track the outcomes of inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures and collect data that directs patient safety and the quality of surgical care improvements. 

“We are thrilled to receive this recognition from the American College of Surgeons,” said Frederick Millham, MD, Chair of Surgery, Newton-Wellesley Hospital. “Our entire surgical staff works tirelessly each day to provide the highest quality of care to our patients while ensuring the highest level of patient safety.” 

The ACS NSQIP recognition program commends a select group of hospitals for  achieving exemplary outcome performances related to patient management in five clinical areas: DVT (deep vein thrombosis, thrombophlebitis and pulmonary embolism); cardiac incidents (cardiac arrest and myocardial infarction); Pneumonia; SSI (surgical site infections-superficial and deep incisional and organ-space SSIs); or urinary tract infection. The 26 hospitals commended achieved the distinction of attaining exemplary results in two or more of the five areas listed above. Risk-adjusted data from the June 2010 ACS NSQIP Semiannual Report were used to determine which hospitals demonstrated exemplary outcomes. 

ACS NSQIP is the only nationally validated quality improvement program that measures and enhances the care of surgical patients. This program measures the actual surgical results 30 days postoperatively as well as risk adjusts patient characteristics to compensate for differences among patient populations and acuity levels. The goal of ACS NSQIP is to reduce surgical morbidity (infection or illness related to a surgical procedure) and surgical mortality (death related to a surgical procedure) and to provide a firm foundation for surgeons to apply what is known as the “best scientific evidence” to the practice of surgery. Furthermore, when adverse effects from surgical procedures are reduced and/or eliminated, a reduction in health care costs follows. ACS NSQIP is a major program of the American College of Surgeons and is currently used in over 300 hospitals.

Newton-Wellesley Hospital’s Department of Surgery is a vibrant, growing department with over 230 members, representing all sub-specialties. The department is capable of meeting the vast majority of needs of patients requiring surgical procedures. The collaborative relationship that exists among surgeons, nurses and administrators enables us to provide personalized service.

Currently, our operating rooms handle 15,000 cases per year, of which 70% are outpatient. Our ultra-modern surgical suites contain the latest in technology allowing our surgical staff, access to lasers, to stereotactic neurosurgery to the laparoscopy and arthroscopy. Our ambulatory surgery center is considered one of the finest in the nation according to The Riker Institute of Surgery and the Picker Institute Survey.  Surgeons from throughout New England visit Newton-Wellesley to view the future of surgery.

Newton-Wellesley Hospital is a full system member of Partners HealthCare System, Inc. PHCS), a nonprofit organization that includes acute care hospitals Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s/Faulkner Hospitals, The North Shore Medical Center, and specialty hospitals McLean Hospital and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, as well as Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare, and the community-based doctors and hospitals of Partners Community HealthCare, Inc.

 Newton-Wellesley Hospital provides a wide range of services, including medical, surgical, obstetrical, orthopaedic, neonatal, pediatric, emergency and psychiatric care. Newton-Wellesley has been serving its community for over a century. The medical staff of the Hospital includes nearly 1,000 physicians practicing a full range of specialties. NWH is a major teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine and also has established post-graduate training programs for Harvard Medical School residents.

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 Patients needing emergency care at Newton-Wellesley Hospital now have an easy way to find out how long the ER wait is- before they actually get there. The Hospital is introducing three new innovative tools for its patients: an Emergency Room (ER) wait time display on the Newton-Wellesley website, a Hospital iPhone application available on iTunes for download and a mobile version of the website available for many smartphones.

Newton-Wellesley Hospital has already begun displaying the current average ER wait times on the hospital’s website, www.nwh.org. The ER wait time is automatically updated every five minutes and represents the average time it takes for a patient to be placed into a treatment room to be seen by the ER practitioner on duty. Patients are triaged on arrival by a registered nurse and are then seen by an emergency medicine provider based on severity. Those determined to require immediate attention will go directly to a room. The service is meant for patients with urgent complaints, but not for those with life-threatening emergencies.

“We are happy to be able to offer our patients the tools they need to access important health information fast,” said Mark Lemons, MD, Chair, Emergency Medicine, Newton-Wellesley Hospital. “Our patient population is technologically savvy, so we thought this would be quite beneficial to them in our continuous effort to provide high quality care.”

At the end of October the Hospital  rolled out its new iPhone application that will feature ER wait times, a pre-registration function, maps and directions, general information about Newton-Wellesley Hospital and more. In addition to the “app,” many smart phone users will have access to a new mobile version of www.nwh.org for easier site navigation.

According to industry experts, there is definitely an advantage to publishing ER wait times “live” versus a texting service. “Not everyone has texting capabilities and even if they do, they have to remember the text number or look it up, which wastes valuable time,” said Sandra Fancher, Vice President of Client Strategy at MedTouch. “Utilizing a mobile app also allows patients to obtain other useful information – not just ER wait times.”

Newton-Wellesley Hospital is a full system member of Partners HealthCare System, Inc. PHCS), a nonprofit organization that includes acute care hospitals Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s/Faulkner Hospitals, The North Shore Medical Center, and specialty hospitals McLean Hospital and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, as well as Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare, and the community-based doctors and hospitals of Partners Community HealthCare, Inc.

Newton-Wellesley Hospital provides a wide range of services, including medical, surgical, obstetrical, orthopaedic, neonatal, pediatric, emergency and psychiatric care. Newton-Wellesley has been serving its community for over a century. The medical staff of the Hospital includes nearly 1,000 physicians practicing a full range of specialties. NWH is a major teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine and also has established post-graduate training programs for Harvard Medical School residents.

Check us out on: Facebook (www.nwh.org/facebook), Twitter (www.nwh.org/twitter), and You Tube (www.nwh.org/youtube).

Local residents will no longer have to travel to Boston for radiation therapy now that Newton-Wellesley Hospital (NWH) has opened the Joan and James Vernon Cancer Center.  Both Dr. Jeffrey Wisch, Medical Director, Vernon Cancer Center, Associate Chief of Hematology/Oncology, and Director of Inpatient Oncology; and Dr. James Vernon, long time Newton-Wellesley Hospital surgeon and for whom this Center is named, are Wellesley and Weston residents respectively.  Newton-Wellesley Hospital has always provided excellent medical care for cancer patients, including general oncology, surgery, and chemotherapy, but the missing piece had been radiation therapy. Since 50 percent of all cancer treatment requires radiation, this is a critical component of a cancer program. The Joan and James Vernon Cancer Center (VCC) will provide a comprehensive cancer program to address our community’s needs. The VCC, located on the site of the former Emergency Department, will occupy approximately 25,000 square feet on two levels in the main hospital.

Having radiation oncology available on the Newton-Wellesley Hospital campus facilitates the collaborative approach with MGH and provides multidisciplinary care for cancer patients. Patients’ quality of life will be enhanced, because they can now receive all of their treatment at a convenient location in familiar surroundings. The Vernon Cancer Center will also allow patients access to advanced cancer care from Newton-Wellesley oncologists – close to home.