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As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) prepares to unveil the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) this year, one member of the project’s steering committee offers this advice for facilities planning to participate: Align senior leadership with the project’s goals. CMS devised SCIP to improve surgical outcomes. SCIP’s steering committee includes representatives from the American College of Surgeons, American Hospital Association, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Department of Veterans Affairs, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.