The Power of Quality

Quality has been the cornerstone of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) since its founding 110 years ago. Through the Power of Quality Campaign, the ACS is on a mission to improve surgical quality and patient care across the country. We will expand the reach of ACS Quality Programs to more hospitals, enlist more surgeons in quality improvement efforts, encourage adoption of quality metrics into public policy, and help patients seek out hospitals committed to delivering the highest quality of care.

Power of Quality Overview

Learn about ACS Quality

Quality in Action

Featured hospitals with ACS Quality programs

For Hospitals

ACS Quality Programs demonstrate a hospital's dedication to providing surgical teams with the tools and resources they need to put quality at the forefront and help them do what they do best—save and improve lives. Begin or enhance your quality programs today!

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For Patients

ACS Quality Programs use the best data, expert input, and proven processes to help surgical care teams deliver the highest quality care. Find ACS-verified or ACS-accredited care near you.

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ACS Quality Programs

Improving surgical care quality is crucial to ensuring better outcomes for patients. That’s why we’re working to bring ACS Quality Programs to every hospital and patient in America.

Explore Our Quality Programs

A Patient's Story

See how Nicole Watson was at the center of every decision of her breast cancer journey thanks to a Inova Health System’s commitment to the ACS Surgical Quality Programs.

Research News

ACS Accreditation Process Drives Quality Improvement

June 11, 2025

Study reveals ACS accreditation significantly improves surgical quality, highlighting its role in advancing hospital performance and patient outcomes.

Quality Hospitals Save Lives

Trey Rogers knew something was seriously wrong when he began experiencing severe abdominal pain. He trusted the surgical team at Atrium Health Pineville with his care. “Every day is truly a gift. The fact that they’ve given more days…what greater gift can you give somebody?”

Learn how the Emergency Surgery Verification Program helps hospitals be well-prepared when patients require emergency surgical intervention.

ACS Quality News

ACS Leads Development of New CMS Age Friendly Hospital Measure

This new type of “programmatic” measure is developed principally based on the standards of the ACS Geriatric Surgery Verification (GSV) Program.

New Research Supports Quality Verification Program Standards

Study confirms effectiveness of 12 standards in improving surgical quality and safety.

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital - Stanford

An ACS Surgical Quality Partner as both a Level I Children’s Surgery Verified (CSV) center and a Level I Pediatric Verified Trauma Center, Lucile Packard’s sole focus is delivering optimal care for pediatric patients. For these care teams, the value of an ACS verification is absolute.

The ACS Honors Boston-Area Surgical Quality Partners

Representatives from 28 Boston-area hospitals were present on Wednesday, October 25, for a celebration ceremony honoring their hospitals’ commitment to the highest quality of surgical care.

Seventy-Eight ACS NSQIP Hospitals Recognized for Achieving Meritorious Outcomes for Surgical Patient Care

Recognized hospitals are deemed “Meritorious” for their composite quality scores in eight surgical care outcome areas.

Emergency General Surgery Verification Program Verifies First Five Hospitals

Five hospitals are among the first in the nation to be verified under the new American College of Surgeons Emergency General Surgery Verification Program (ACS EGS-VP) launched in September 2022.

Vascular Verification Program Verifies First Four Hospitals

ACS, with the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), has verified the first four hospitals as part of the recently launched Vascular Verification Program (Vascular-VP).

ACS Launches Power of Quality Campaign

Learn about the Power of Quality Campaign and view a recording of the panel discussion at the official launch of this program.

Bringing Our Quality Programs to Every Community

Providing high-quality care is at the heart of everything we do as surgeons, and it has been the cornerstone of the ACS since our founding in 1913. Today, it’s more important than ever that we accelerate conversations about surgical quality as we emerge from the pandemic and confront the strains it has put on our healthcare system.