With the goal of providing continued excellence in its standards for patient care, Operation Smile will hold its 5th Global Standards Summit in Sollentuna, Sweden from October 11- October 13. In all, more than a hundred professionals including surgeons, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, dentists, nurses, psychosocial providers, speech language pathologists, and biomedical technicians from Operation Smile program and partner countries, will take part in the summit.
“During this gathering, international medical leaders will finalize the scientific review and endorsement of our global commitments. To us, this is much more than a medical exercise, it represents our pledge to our patient’s safety and wellbeing. It is how we honor all who support us and believe children should receive excellent care, no matter how much money they have or where they are born,” said Ruben Ayala, Chief Medical Officer for Operation Smile.
Operation Smile’s Global Standards of Care were initially developed and agreed on by the global medical leadership in 2006. Subsequent meetings have been held to review and refine the standards, which establish minimum and absolute requirements for Operation Smile programs.
“These standards reflect the diversity of care delivery and capacity building programs Operation Smile has grown to offer. They carry the voice of experts, many of which come from low-and-middle income countries, offering solutions relevant to the communities where we work. The standards place continued emphasis on safety and quality in surgical care, while expanding on the role of multiple disciplines that work to further integrate patients into families and societies,” Ayala added.
The updated standards are supported by medical policies and procedures which are developed, reviewed, refined and approved by the Operation Smile Medical Oversight team. Operation Smile’s Global Standards of Care aim to embody the commitment of its global family to levels of performance in care that can be consistently and uniformly expected by all patients, volunteers, staff and supporters in all Operation Smile Programs. The revised standards will be officially rolled out for implementation in Spring 2020.
About Operation Smile: Operation Smile has provided hundreds of thousands of safe surgeries for those born with cleft lip, cleft palate or other facial conditions. With more than three decades of expertise, Operation Smile creates solutions that deliver free surgery to people where it’s needed most. As one of the largest medical volunteer-based nonprofits, Operation Smile has mobilized thousands of medical volunteers from a wide range of medical specialties from more than 80 countries. Operation Smile engages public-private partnerships to advance health care delivery, train local medical professionals to provide surgical care for patients in their communities, donate crucial medical equipment and supplies, and increase access to surgical care so that everyone living with cleft is treated. Visit www.operationsmile.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. ###
