NYC Health + Hospitals – Queens Earns First AORN Center of Excellence in Surgical Safety: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS)

Denver, Co. – The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) announced that NYC Health + Hospitals – Queens has earned designation as the first facility in the nation to achieve recognition as an AORN Center of Excellence in Surgical Safety: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS).

This recognition honors the facility’s commitment to improving patients’ physical and psychological well-being before, during, and after surgery through consistent, evidence-based enhanced recovery practices.

“ERAS is one of the strongest examples of how coordinated, interdisciplinary practice improves patient outcomes,” said David Wyatt, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, CNOR, FAORN, FAAN, AORN CEO and Executive Director. “This designation reflects a facility’s commitment to shared standards, teamwork, and the evidence-based interventions that make surgery safer.”

The AORN Center of Excellence in Surgical Safety: ERAS designation signifies that a facility has successfully completed AORN’s comprehensive ERAS program. This evidence-based, multidisciplinary initiative is designed to reduce postoperative complications, improve pain management, optimize recovery, and strengthen communication across the surgical team.

As the first facility to earn this designation, NYC Health + Hospitals – Queens serves as a national model for how health care organizations can operationalize ERAS principles at scale and embed them into daily perioperative practice.

Hospital Leadership on ERAS Implementation

“We are proud that NYC Health + Hospitals – Queens is the first in the nation to be recognized as an AORN Center of Excellence in Surgical Safety: ERAS,” said NYC Health + Hospitals – Queens Chief Executive Officer Neil Moore, MBA, MPA, FACHE. “This designation validates our team’s sustained commitment to evidence-based, patient-centered surgical care and reflects the collaboration across nursing, surgery, anesthesia, and allied health that drives better outcomes and faster recoveries for our patients.”

Nursing Leadership Advancing Evidence-Based Care

“ERAS designation validates a formidable shift in the excellent care provided by our nurses,” said Chief Nursing Officer Abbi-Gail Baboolal, DNP, MSN, RN, FNP. “Our perioperative nurses’ commitment to evidence-based practice and to reduce our patients’ length of stay with compassionate, patient-centered care demonstrates the role of nursing in surgical recovery with positive outcomes and enhanced patient experience.”

Surgical Leadership Driving Culture Change

“From the very beginning, implementing an ERAS program at Queens Hospital Center has been an exercise in teamwork and culture change,” said Department of Surgery Chair James O’Connor, MD, FACS, FASCRS. “ERAS is not a checklist but a commitment to think differently and adopt proven best practices. The successful implementation across multiple disciplines—centered in the operating room—has reduced our complication rate and significantly decreased length of stay for elective colon resections, improving recovery for our patients.”

Perioperative Operations From Preparation Through Recovery

“This honor reflects the hard work our preoperative and perioperative teams put into patient education, optimization, and seamless handoffs,” said Mary Philip, RN, RMS, CNOR, Director of Nursing — Preoperative Services. “From preop preparation through recovery, our focus on communication, evidence-based protocols, and compassionate care ensures each patient receives the safest, most effective pathway to recovery.”

Meeting the AORN ERAS Designation Standard

To achieve this designation, NYC Health + Hospitals – Queens completed a rigorous assessment process and implemented key initiatives aligned with AORN’s ERAS standards, including:

• Comprehensive review and enhancement of ERAS-related protocols
• Adoption of technologies that support best practices in surgical safety
• Advanced education and skills training for perioperative team members
• Strengthening a culture of communication and psychological safety in the OR, empowering team members to speak up for patient safety

This recognition reflects the facility’s sustained focus on improving surgical outcomes, advancing recovery practices, and delivering high-quality, patient-centered care.

Facilities interested in pursuing the AORN Center of Excellence in Surgical Safety: ERAS designation can learn more at www.aorn.org/coe.

About AORN

Founded in 1949, AORN supports more than 200,000 perioperative nurses with evidence-based research, education, standards, and resources to enable optimal outcomes and promote safe surgery for every patient, every time.

Contact

Christian Czerwinski
Communications Manager
AORN
2170 S. Parker Road, Ste. 400
Denver, CO 80231