Data-driven care is an essential component of improving patient outcomes. Nobody knows that better than Benjamin Jacobs, M.D., an assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Vascular Surgery and the assistant chair for performance improvement.
His team’s commitment to quality improvement culminated in national recognition at the 2025 meeting of the Society for Vascular Surgery in New Orleans, where the University of Florida was one of only six institutions recognized with the inaugural Dr. Larry Kraiss Quality Award from the society’s Vascular Quality Initiative, or VQI.
Established to recognize hospitals consistently achieving the highest standards of patient care and quality improvement, the accolade honors institutions that have earned a three-star quality award — the highest bestowed by the initiative — for a minimum of eight consecutive years.
The award reflects UF’s exceptional performance across several critical areas, including rigorous long-term patient follow-up, proactive participation in regional and national meetings, active involvement in impactful quality improvement initiatives and comprehensive participation in VQI’s extensive registries.
The award reflects more than institutional policy; it speaks to a commitment on the part of UF faculty to develop a culture of quality and improvement in every facet of care.
According to VQI, approximately 1,000 centers contribute over 10,000 procedures to its registries every month. This wealth of data, drawn from vascular procedures nationwide, gives clinicians across the country the data and tools they need to facilitate quality improvement and participation in clinical trials.
“These registries drive quality,” said Jacobs, who also serves as the associate medical director of the Southeastern Vascular Surgery Group. “There are 14 VQI registries and we contributed to 12 of them. We review our own data quarterly, and faculty take pride in participating. They understand the importance of the work.”
Central to UF’s consistent success in the VQI has been the valuable contribution of Yuming Lin, M.S.M., CLSS, the department’s dedicated VQI data abstractor.
“The work she’s done has been remarkable,” Jacobs said. “The award is indicative of what’s been a truly Herculean effort on her part.”
‘A beautiful picture’
“It’s rewarding to be recognized at the national level but also to see our consistent efforts reflected in patient outcomes,” Lin said.
As the division’s database manager, Lin has supported quality, improvement and patient safety efforts for over 12 years.
“I focus on ensuring our data submissions are accurate, complete, consistent and timely,” she said. “Reliable data is essential to producing meaningful insights and supporting real improvement efforts.”
Thanks to her work, the division can use comprehensive data to identify areas for improvement, monitor patient outcomes and implement changes that enhance both quality and safety of care.
Lin stressed that the division’s success and recognition is the result of not only strong collaboration but also supportive leadership. She praised Martin Back, M.D., a professor and the chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery.
“Dr. Back and the rest of the leadership team have fostered an environment where quality improvement is a priority and where everybody’s contribution is valued,” she said.
Lin reflected on joining the department in 2013 after earning her Master of Science in Management from UF in 2008.
“They asked me if I really enjoyed spending so much time with data,” she said. “I told them there’s a beautiful picture behind the data if you know how to look at it.”
From data to solutions
In the Division of Vascular Surgery, improvement isn’t something that just happens. It’s a continuous process driven by data that programs like the VQI strive to collect and make available to physicians across the country.
“The VQI lets us measure and benchmark so we can continually try to get better,” Jacobs said, adding that access to the data in the registries is a core component of encouraging health care providers to engage in performance improvement projects.
“Team-based collaboration is key. Ultimately, we all want the same thing: patients to do better. When we keep the focus on the patients, getting everybody pulling in the same direction becomes easy.”