Tyler, Texas (October 7, 2024) ─ The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), representing more than 200,000 surgical nurses across the country, has named UT Health Tyler as a Center of Excellence in Surgical Safety: Prevention of RSI. With this award, AORN recognizes the medical center for its commitment to reducing the risk of surgical errors by advancing the education of its surgical team members in the prevention of near misses and the consequences of unintentionally retained surgical items (RSI).
AORN announced its national education and recognition awards program in early 2022 and UT Health Tyler is among the first facilities in the United States to earn the designation as a Center of Excellence in Surgical Safety: Prevention of RSI. The award signifies UT Health Tyler has adopted new practices in its continued safe care of the surgical patient after successfully completing the months-long comprehensive, evidence-based program.
Unintentionally retained surgical items, or RSIs, refer to any surgical sponge, instrument, tool or device that is unintentionally left in the patient at the completion of a surgery or other procedure. For years, unintentional RSIs have been identified as the most common sentinel event in surgical or invasive procedures by The Joint Commission, the standards-setting and accrediting body in healthcare.
“As surgical procedures continue to advance and medical research reveals new methods to improve surgical patient safety practices, it is imperative that facilities and practitioners adapt their practice in the interest of patient safety,” said AORN’s Executive Director/CEO Linda Groah, MSN, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC, FAAN. “This Center of Excellence for Surgical Safety designation shows the community that they can depend on the quality of care provided.”