Texas Health Arlington Memorial Nationally Recognized for High-Quality Spine Care

ARLINGTON, Texas - For the first time, Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital has earned Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval^® for Advanced Certification in Spine Surgery (ACSS)*. It's just one of five facilities in North Texas to earn certification.

"It's truly an honor to earn our first certification in spine surgery, and we're committed to making it the first of many," said Blake Kretz, M.H.A., FACHE, Texas Health Arlington Memorial president. "This Joint Commission certification affirms our dedication to providing advanced spine care to every patient, every time."

Samantha Church, B.S.N., R.N., Spine Surgery Program coordinator at Texas Health Arlington Memorial, said many individuals and multiple departments contributed to the certification.

"I've been honored to work here caring for Arlington residents for more than 15 years," Church said. "The evolution of medicine is rapid and ever-changing, but our constant is having a dedicated team providing the best care possible."

Complex surgery by the numbers

More than 1 million spine surgeries are performed in the U.S. each year, based on data published by the National Institutes of Health. Texas Health Arlington Memorial's medical staff performs close to 250 spinal surgeries every year and serves a community of more than 400,000 residents.

Advanced certification in spine surgery is an important milestone for Texas Health Arlington Memorial, said the hospital's Spine Program medical director, Sabatino Bianco, M.D., who is also a neurosurgeon and spine surgeon on the medical staff.

Understanding the importance behind spine care certification

"Nowadays, the community is overwhelmed with medical information, and it can be challenging for individuals to make an educated decision regarding where and who they choose for their spine care," Bianco said.

"The spine care team at Texas Health Arlington Memorial is committed to promoting high-quality care, reliability and superior patient outcomes," Bianco added. "Earning validation from an independent and extremely high-quality organization such as Joint Commission provides the community with comfort and confidence."

Certified facilities must adhere to specific criteria:

• Successfully treating a minimum of 200 patients
• Following established clinical guidelines and procedures
• Collecting performance measurement data
• Participating in a national spine patient registry

Texas Health Arlington Memorial completed a rigorous, unannounced on-site review in January. During the two-day visit, a Joint Commission surveyor evaluated patient data, patient quality measures, toured the facility, assessed policies and procedures, and reviewed the program's education and credentialing processes.

The ACSS certification, which lasts two years, assists organizations with consistent communication - from presurgical consultation to surgery, rehabilitation services and follow-up visits with the surgeon.

*Joint Commission partnered with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the American Spine Registry and American Joint Replacement Registry (both collaborative efforts of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and AAOS) to develop the advanced orthopedic certification in spine surgery.