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    Surgical Care

    At California Pacific, we are committed to providing the highest quality of care and reporting publicly on our performance. The following comparison measurements have been chosen by federal and state agencies and other organizations as measurements of high quality medical care for some of the most common and costly conditions that hospitals treat. They measure whether important, recommended medical treatments are given to achieve the best results for patients.

    Hospitals can lower the risk of wound infection after surgery by making sure patients get the right medicines at the right time on the day of their surgery. These quality measures show some of the standards of care.

    Note: Our Quality data is submitted to different reporting agencies in different ways. Data/information that appear on California Pacific's Quality web pages may be assigned either to individual or combined campuses at California Pacific based on a set of complex rules, such as hospital license numbers and Medicare identification numbers.

    Chart of surgical care indicators. Data in table below.
    Note: A higher percentage is better.
    Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

    Surgical Care: Apr-Jun 2010
    IndicatorCPMCSt. Luke'sTop 10%National Average
    Antibiotics Within One Hour Of Incision 98%100%100%92%
    Antibiotic Selection 99%100%98%95%
    Antibiotics Discontinued Within 24 Hours 98%100%99%90%

    Antibiotics Within One Hour Of Incision
    What are we measuring? The percentage of surgery patients who receive preventative antibiotics within one hour prior to surgical incision.
    Why is this important? Patients can develop infections when they undergo surgery. Hospitals take several steps to prevent infections, including giving a preventative antibiotic right before surgery.



    Antibiotic Selection
    What are we measuring? The percentage of surgery patients receiving appropriate antibiotics.
    Why is this important? The appropriateness of antibiotics depends on the type of procedure being performed and assessment of the patient. By selecting and giving antibiotics that are consistent with current guidelines which are specific to each type of surgical procedure, hospitals can significantly reduce the risk of an infection after surgery.


    Antibiotics Discontinued Within 24 Hours
    What are we measuring? The percentage of surgery patients whose preventative antibiotic(s) are stopped within 24 hours after surgery ends.
    Why is this important? In most cases, it is not necessary to continue giving patients antibiotics more than 24 hours after the surgery. Giving this medication beyond that point increases the risk of side effects and can cause bacteria to become resistant to the medication.


    Links to National Databases that Report These Measures

    Hospital Compare
    Provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this site compares the quality of care provided by hospitals.

    California HealthCare Foundation
    This site compares how patients rate the care they received in California hospitals.