Lexington Medical Center receives meritorious distinction from the American College of Surgeons

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program recognized 76 of the 609 eligible hospitals for achieving meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care. These 76 hospitals achieved the distinction based on an outstanding composite quality score on one or both grouping categories (All Cases and High Risk).

Lexington Medical Center is one of just 43 hospitals recognized on both the “All Cases” and “High Risk” lists in the world and the only hospital in South Carolina to receive this distinction. “By adhering to the high standards set by the American College of Surgeons, our patients receive higher quality of care, our clinical data is more accurate, and the organization implements system-wide process improvement,” said E. Myron Barwick, MD, FACS, medical director of Quality Outcomes in Surgery, NSQIP surgeon champion, Lexington Surgery.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the American College of Surgeons for our team’s efforts to continuously improve surgical care and patient outcomes,” said Kirk Jenkins, president and CEO, Lexington Health. “This achievement reflects the talent, commitment to excellence, and dedication to collaboration of our surgical teams to consistently deliver world-class care to every patient, even those with the most complex conditions.”

ACS NSQIP-participating hospitals are required to track the outcomes of inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures, which are then analyzed by ACS and reported back to hospitals. The results inform patient safety initiatives within the hospital and affect the quality of surgical care. ACS NSQIP recognition program commends a select group of hospitals for achieving a meritorious composite score in either an “All Cases” category or a “High Risk” category. Each composite score was determined through a different weighted formula combining eight outcomes.

ACS evaluated outcomes in the following eight clinical areas:

• Mortality
• Cardiac: Cardiac Arrest and Myocardial Infarction
• Pneumonia
• Unplanned Intubation
• Ventilator > 48 hours
• Renal Failure
• Surgical Site Infection: Superficial Incisional SSI, Deep Incisional SSI, Organ/Space SSI
• Urinary Tract Infection

To be eligible for either list, hospitals had to submit to the registry during the 2022, 2023 and 2024 calendar years. ACS only evaluated the performance in calendar year 2024 (reported in the July 2025 ACS NSQIP Semiannual Report) for the 2024 Meritorious lists. Of the 656 NSQIP hospitals participating in 2024, 609 met the three-year criteria to be eligible for Meritorious consideration.

About Lexington Health

Lexington Health is a comprehensive network of care that includes six community medical and urgent care centers, nearly 80 physician practices, more than 9,000 health care professionals and Lexington Medical Center, a 607-bed teaching hospital in West Columbia, South Carolina. The hospital was ranked best hospital in the Columbia Metro by U.S. News & World Report, was selected by Modern Healthcare as one of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare and was the first hospital in the state to achieve Magnet with Distinction status for excellence in nursing care. Lexington Health Cancer Center is an accredited Cancer Center of Excellence. The network includes a cardiovascular program recognized by the American College of Cardiology as South Carolina’s first HeartCARE Center. The network also has an occupational health center, the largest skilled nursing facility in the Carolinas, an Alzheimer’s care center and nearly 80 physician practices. Lexington Medical Center operates one of the busiest Emergency departments in South Carolina, treating nearly 100,000 patients each year. The hospital delivers more than 4,000 babies each year and performs more than 34,000 surgeries.