American College of Surgeons Awards CHI Health Creighton UMC–Bergan Mercy National Recognition for Meritorious Outcomes

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®) has recognized CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center - Bergan Mercy as one of 76 ACS NSQIP participating hospitals that have achieved meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2024. As a participant in ACS NSQIP, CHI Health CUMC-Bergan Mercy is required to track the outcomes of inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures and collect data that assesses patient safety and can be used to direct improvement in the quality of surgical care.

“We commend all ACS NSQIP-participating hospitals because they have committed to using high-quality data to improve the surgical care of their patients. CHI Health CUMC-Bergan Mercy has gone a step further — not only do they use the data effectively, they also have the results to prove they are achieving optimal patient outcomes. We are particularly proud of their achievements in this increasingly difficult climate,” said Clifford Y. Ko, MD, MS, MSHS, FACS, FASCRS, Senior Vice President of the ACS Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care.

"We are incredibly proud to receive this national recognition from the American College of Surgeons NSQIP, placing CHI Health CUMC-Bergan Mercy among an elite group of hospitals nationwide,” said Dennis Bierle, President, CHI Health CUMC-Bergan Mercy. “This prestigious honor reflects our unwavering commitment to surgical excellence and, more importantly, signifies the safe, high-quality care our community can always expect from us. This achievement is a testament to the dedication, skill, and collaborative spirit of our surgical teams, who consistently strive for the best possible outcomes for every patient."

The ACS NSQIP recognition program commends a select group of hospitals for achieving a meritorious composite score in either an “All Cases” category or a category which includes higher risk cases (“High Risk”). Risk-adjusted data from the July 2025 ACS NSQIP Semiannual Report, which presents data from the 2024 calendar year, were used to determine which hospitals demonstrated meritorious outcomes. CHI Health CUMC-Bergan Mercy has been recognized on the “All Cases” Meritorious list.

Each composite score was determined through a different weighted formula combining eight outcomes. The outcome performances related to patient management were in the following eight clinical areas:

• Mortality

• Unplanned intubation

• Ventilator > 48 hours

• Renal failure

• Cardiac incidents (cardiac arrest and myocardial infarction)

• Respiratory (pneumonia)

• SSI (surgical site infections-superficial and deep incisional and organ-space SSIs)

• Urinary tract infection 

The 76 hospitals achieved the distinction based on an outstanding composite quality score on one, or both, of the grouping categories (All Cases and High Risk). Sixty hospitals were recognized on the “All Cases” list and 60 hospitals were recognized on the “High Risk” list; the 60 hospitals represent approximately ten percent of the 609 ACS NSQIP eligible hospitals. Forty-three hospitals are recognized on both the “All Cases” and “High Risk” lists, 16 other hospitals are on just the “All Cases” list, and 17 other hospitals are on the “High Risk” list only, totaling 76 hospitals being recognized as Meritorious.

CHI Health CUMC-Bergan Mercy is a Level I Trauma Center, Comprehensive Stroke Center, and an academic medical center, partnering with the Creighton University School of Medicine. The hospital cares for the Omaha metro, providing trauma services, heart and vascular care, emergency services, surgery, maternity, cancer care, diagnostic imaging and more. 

ACS NSQIP is the preeminent 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 healthcare costs follows. ACS NSQIP is a major program of the ACS and is currently used in over 850 adult or pediatric hospitals. Hospitals participating in ACS NSQIP are designated as ACS Surgical Quality Partners. Find an ACS Surgical Quality Partner hospital through the ACS Find a Hospital tool.