Stamford Health Honored with Award For Its Preoperative Optimization Program

STAMFORD, CT — Stamford Health has received the 2025 John D. Thompson Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Healthcare Through the Use of Data, presented by the Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA), for its comprehensive Preoperative Optimization Program (POP).

Named after the late John D. Thompson, a Yale professor and pioneer in healthcare administration, the award recognizes excellence in patient care through the strategic use of quantitative data to improve hospital operations and outcomes.

The award was presented to Stamford Health during CHA’s annual meeting on June 17 at the Bristol Event Center.

Developed to enhance surgical quality and safety, Stamford Health’s POP clinic at the Tully Health Center standardizes the preoperative risk assessment process for all inpatient surgical cases. In addition to consultation with primary care physicians, patients are seen by hospitalist physicians at the POP clinic, where they undergo evaluations for potential risks such as cardiac and pulmonary complications, infection, and pain management.

"It is an honor to present Stamford Health with this award for an initiative that demonstrates how clinical teams transform data into real-world improvements in patient care," said Jennifer Jackson, CEO of the Connecticut Hospital Association, in a prepared statement. "The success of POP is a testament to Stamford Health’s commitment to collaboration and innovation. This teamwork has resulted in a thoroughly coordinated program that draws expertise from numerous hospital departments to create a seamless experience for all patients undergoing inpatient surgery. We applaud the team for this exceptional achievement."

Stamford Health has tracked the program’s impact through the American College of SurgeonsNational Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP), analyzing data between 2017 and 2023. The results show significant reductions in surgical complications, including a 73 percent decrease in postoperative morbidity and a 57 percent decrease in mortality. Same-day surgical cancellation rates have dropped from over 10 percent in 2017 to under 1 percent.

In November 2024, Stamford Health was also recognized as one of just 58 hospitals nationwide—and the only one in Connecticut—to receive a "meritorious" designation by ACS NSQIP for achieving high composite quality scores in key areas such as mortality, cardiac events, pneumonia, and surgical site infections.

"I am extremely proud of this recognition, which reinforces the outstanding surgical care we provide to our patients every day," said Dr. Rohit Bhalla, senior vice president and chief clinical and quality officer at Stamford Health, in a prepared statement. "Thank you to our many skilled physicians, nurses, and care teams who work collaboratively in our POP clinic to ensure patients are healthy and fully prepared for their procedures."