ST. PAUL, Minn. -- "Safest in America," a consortium of 10 metropolitan hospitals and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, is implementing standardized surgical site marking protocols for 10 hospital systems in the Twin Cities. Currently, hundreds of Twin Cities' surgeons practice at multiple facilities in the metropolitan area, each with separate procedures for surgical site marking. 

Reaching an agreement on a single standard in the Twin Cities is an important step in reducing possible confusion and reducing opportunities for medical errors (i.e., "wrong site" surgery).

Scheduled to appear at a news conference on Monday are CEOs from Allina Hospitals and Clinics, Children's Hospitals and Clinics, Fairview Health Services, Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare, HealthEast, Hennepin County Medical Center, Methodist Hospital/Park Nicollet Health Services, and Regions Hospital/HealthPartners.

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Metro Hospitals Agree to Standardized Surgical Site Marking Protocol