To help spread the use of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist, in December 2008 the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) issued a challenge to every hospital in the US:  Test the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist at least one time with one operating room team by April 1, 2009.  Known as the Surgical Safety Sprint, the roughly 90-day initiative was designed to dramatically shorten the time (reportedly an average of 17 years) between the publication of a well-researched advancement and when patients reap the benefits.


By the end of the Spring, there had been notable progress.  As of April 1st, 664 organizations had indicated that they had tested (or planned to test) the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist and the list continues to grow.  As hospitals across the US continue to test and implement the Checklist, IHI will track this progress on a special map. 

- Surgical Sprint Blog: Click here to see comments posted by Sprint participants
- IHI Forum, December 2009: Watch Dr. Gawande's introduction to the Sprint