IOM Program Receives 5-year Accreditation
Children's Mercy One of Only Three Children's Hospitals with Accreditation
The Children’s Mercy’s Intraoperative Neuromonitoring program is excited to announce that it has received a five-year accreditation by ABRET Neurodiagnostic and Accreditation.
There are only 36 ABRET Certified NIOM (neurophysiologic intraoperative monitoring) laboratories in the United States. Children’s Mercy is one of only three children’s hospitals with this accreditation.
Intraoperative monitoring is a way to monitor the integrity of the spinal cord, cranial nerve and brainstem structures during surgical procedures such as scoliosis correction, tethered cord, vertebral fractures, vertebral disc surgeries, posterior fossa, and brain step surgeries for tumor removal.
During these procedures, the intraoperative team, which consists of an IONM technologist and a physician, monitor and communicate the findings with the surgeons in real time. This has led to significant improvement in the outcomes of these surgeries.
Children''s Mercy has had an intraoperative neuromonitoring program for nearly two decades, working primarily with orthopedics and neurosurgery. During this time, the program has gone from monitoring 10 cases per year to 250 cases per year.
The accreditation process reviews and accredits NIOM labs meeting technical standards and demonstrating quality. Evaluation focuses on standards, policies, and lab management.
Children’s Mercy Kansas City is an independent, non-profit, 390-bed pediatric health system, providing over half a million patient encounters each year for children from across the country. Children’s Mercy is ranked by U.S. News & World Report in all ten specialties. We have received Magnet® recognition five times for excellence in nursing services. In affiliation with the University of Missouri-Kansas City, our faculty of nearly 800 pediatric specialists and researchers is actively involved in clinical care, pediatric research and educating the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists. The Children’s Mercy Research Institute (CMRI) integrates research and clinical care with nationally recognized expertise in genomic medicine, precision therapeutics, population health, health care innovation and emerging infections. In 2021 the CMRI moved into a nine-story, 375,000-square-foot space emphasizing a translational approach to research in which clinicians and researchers work together to accelerate the pace of discovery that enhances care.