NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull Earns National Recognition as Center of Excellence in Surgical Safety
Prestigious AORN designation recognizes Woodhull Hospital’s leadership in preventing retained surgical items and advancing a culture of safety through innovation, teamwork, and patient-centered care
Mar 25, 2026
NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull today announced it received the Center of Excellence in Surgical Safety: Prevention of Retained Surgical Items (RSI) Award and the Go Clear Award by the Association of PeriOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), the leading professional organization for surgical nurses nationwide. This prestigious award recognizes Woodhull Hospital’s unwavering commitment to minimizing the risk of surgical errors and enhancing patient safety through advanced education and training of its surgical team in preventing unintentionally retained surgical items.
Retained surgical items, which include any surgical sponge, instrument, tool, or device unintentionally left in a patient after surgery, have long been identified by The Joint Commission as the most common sentinel event in surgical and invasive procedures.
Woodhull Hospital also earned the Go Clear designation for maintaining a surgical environment free of surgical smoke.
“At NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, patient safety is at the heart of everything we do. This recognition as an AORN Center of Excellence underscores our deep commitment to delivering the highest quality, safest care to our patients and community. We are incredibly proud of our team—this achievement reflects their dedication, compassion, and excellence—and I have the utmost confidence that their work will continue to strengthen and elevate patient care every day,” said Sandra Sneed, MBA, FACHE, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull.
“We are grateful to collaborate with nursing leadership to achieve this important distinction for patient safety in our operating rooms. This is an important milestone on our journey from good to great,” said Ross MacDonald, MD, Chief Medical Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull achieved 100% completion of required education across all surgical team members, including nurses, ancillary staff, surgeons, and anesthesiologists, along with 100% audit compliance in both the prevention of retained surgical items and surgical smoke safety. This level of performance reflects consistent adherence to the highest safety standards and a strong culture of accountability across all disciplines.
As a result, Woodhull has earned the AORN Center of Excellence designation, recognizing the successful implementation of evidence-based best practices and an ongoing commitment to delivering safe, high-quality surgical care to every patient.
“NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull is proud to be designated by the AORN as a Center of Excellence in Surgical Safety: Prevention of Retained Surgical Items (RSI) and the Go Clear Award. This designation affirms our commitment to providing the best possible care in a safe environment to our community. This award epitomizes multidisciplinary teamwork which enhances our culture of safety through collaboration. Every process, every verification, every interaction, and every safety measure is guided by a shared responsibility to protect our patients and ensure they receive safe, reliable, and high-quality care throughout their surgical experience,” said Althea Senior-Morris, MSN, RN, Chief Nursing Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull.
“I am so proud of our team for achieving the gold standard with Go Clear and RSI. These are not just certifications to us; they’re a promise that we’re clearing the air of surgical smoke and maintaining an unwavering focus on patient safety,” said Javier Andrade, MD, FACS, FASMBS, Chief of Surgery at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull.
“This designation is a true testament to the collaborative nature of our perioperative staff at Woodhull, and our dedication to patient safety,” said Patrick Milord, MD, MBA, Chief of Anesthesia at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull.
“Ensuring safety is not about perfection—it is about putting systems in place to make it easy to do the right thing and hard to do wrong. Congratulations to our OR and Labor and Birthing teams for achieving national recognition and official designation in preventing retained surgical instruments (RSI) and Go Clear, which focuses on maintaining a smoke-free environment. Today we put these measures in place to prevent future harm. Patient safety is our number one goal as Woodhull Hospital goes from Good to Great,” said Wendy Wilcox, MD, MPH, MBA, FACOG, Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull.
To achieve this RSI recognition, NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull underwent a rigorous process, demonstrating its commitment to RSI prevention through several key initiatives. This included a comprehensive review and enhancement of existing surgical safety protocols, the implementation of adjunct technology and standardized procedures for instrument and sponge counting, and advanced training for all surgical team members on best practices for preventing RSIs. To achieve surgical smoke recognition, Woodhull Hospital achieved 100% completion of AORN smoke safety training across all clinical disciplines, as well as consistent availability and use of smoke evacuation equipment in every applicable surgical case across both the main operating rooms and Labor and Delivery.
The programs also emphasized fostering a culture of open communication and collaboration within the OR to ensure that all team members are empowered to speak up if they have any concerns about patient safety. Earning this Center of Excellence designation demonstrates NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull’s dedication to providing the highest level of safety for patients undergoing surgical procedures, while also creating a safer and more supportive environment for its surgical staff.
“To keep pace with evolving surgical safety practices, facilities must adapt,” said David Wyatt, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, CNOR, FAORN, FAAN, AORN’s CEO & Executive Director. “This Center of Excellence designation reflects that commitment.”
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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull
NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, part of the NYC Health + Hospitals health care system, is the major tertiary care provider in the borough of Brooklyn. It is a premiere health care organization for key specialties, including surgery, women’s health, pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine, renal services, ambulatory care/primary care, emergency medicine, and behavioral health services. Last year, the hospital received close to 480,000 ambulatory care visits and close to 100,000 emergency room visits. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org/woodhull, and stay connected on Facebook.
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation, serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlusHealth—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 46,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
About AORN
Founded in 1949, AORN is the leading professional organization for perioperative nurses, supporting the practice of more than 200,000 perioperative nurses by providing evidence-based research, nursing education, standards and practice resources to enable optimal outcomes for patients undergoing operative and other invasive procedures. AORN unites and empowers perioperative nurses, healthcare organizations, and industry partners to support safe surgery for every patient, every time. For more information about AORN and its initiatives, visit www.aorn.org.
