The first ever SRC accredited Center of Excellence in Gender Confirmation Surgery has been established at Greenbrae Surgery Center in Greenbrae, California. More than just a name, the Center of Excellence accreditation is only achieved by facilities and surgeons that meet nationally recognized standards for quality care and safety as determined by an independent, external process of evaluation. For patients, this means working with experienced surgeons who perform gender confirmation procedures exclusively, as well as staff that is specially trained to care for transgender patients, and a facility where a large volume of gender confirmation surgeries are performed according to the highest standards.
Surgical Review Corporation (SRC) is an internationally recognized patient safety organization dedicated to recognizing and refining surgical care. SRC is the leading administrator of accreditation programs for surgeons and hospitals worldwide. Healthcare organizations and surgeons seeking accreditation by SRC undergo an extensive self-assessment and on-site inspection.
Until now, the Center of Excellence accreditation had never been granted in the specialty of gender confirmation surgery. Greenbrae Surgery Center, along with Dr. Heidi Wittenberg, Dr. Mang Chen, and Dr. Michael Safir, are the first to achieve it.
“These surgeons have championed our efforts to create a Center of Excellence program in Gender Confirmation Surgery, recognizing the need for standardization of surgical care and clinical pathways within this specialty. This first of its kind accreditation sets the benchmark for quality outcomes in this emerging field and demonstrates our team’s commitment to surgical excellence.” — Katrina Semplinski, BSN, RN, CNOR, Administrator at Greenbrae Surgery Center.
As the first to be accredited, Greenbrae Surgery Center and its surgeons were in a unique position to help the SRC create standards and benchmarks for the Center of Excellence in Gender Confirmation Surgery accreditation.
Established in 2004, Greenbrae Surgery Center is a state-of-the-art, outpatient facility located in Marin County, California. More than 1600 gender confirmation surgeries have been completed at Greenbrae Surgery Center since 2013.
Dr. Heidi Wittenberg performs a number of gender confirmation procedures at Greenbrae Surgery Center, including hysterectomy, vaginectomy, metoidioplasty, and vaginoplasty.
“I am proud of how the surgeons, nurses and ancillary staff have worked together at Greenbrae Surgery Center with the common goal of providing high quality care for our patients. The staff is specially trained and focused on our transgender patients. Each involved surgeon is 100% focused and only performs gender confirming surgeries. Each surgeon has their own high volume and experience. These factors come together at Greenbrae Surgery Center, as a place that performs a large volume of gender confirmation surgeries, pursues quality and safety measures, and is recognized as the first designated Center of Excellence Gender Confirmation Surgery by the international organization Surgical Review Corporation.” — Dr. Heidi Wittenberg, Director of MoZaic Care, and a Founder Surgeon and Co-Director for the Center of Excellence in Gender Confirmation Surgery at Greenbrae Surgery Center.
The Center of Excellence in Gender Confirmation Surgery accreditation leaves no doubt as to the experience and dedication of the surgeons and staff at Greenbrae Surgery Center. As other facilities and surgeons begin seeking out the SRC accreditation, the best practices established for transgender patients at Greenbrae Surgery Center will help improve transgender surgical care around the world.