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April 13, 2005 | More
News
Valley Health Joins National
Patient Safety Campaign
Valley Health, along with more than 1,700 other
hospitals and health systems across the country,
has joined the Save 100,000 Lives Campaign, the
first-ever national campaign to save lives by
implementing proven healthcare quality and
safety practices.
In its first few months, the 100K Lives
Campaign, which is sponsored by the Institute
for Healthcare Improvement, has nearly met its
goal of enlisting 2,000 hospitals nationwide.
Formally
unveiled in December 2004, the campaign has
already been endorsed by such distinguished
healthcare organizations as the American Medical
Association, the American Hospital Association,
the American Nurses Association, the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services, Joint
Commission, the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare
Association, and numerous quality healthcare
providers and systems in all 50 states.
“We are excited
to be part of a world-class campaign to promote
safety and quality,” explains Michael Halseth,
CEO. “It is important that Valley Health stand
up and be counted as committed to this effort,
which is entirely compatible with our goals and
values related to patient safety and quality.”
The 100K Lives
Campaign is designed to prevent common hospital
system errors that can result in unintended
patient deaths. Over the course of the next few
months, each VH hospital will be evaluating six
evidence-based interventions: deploying rapid
response teams at the first sign of patient
decline; following quality guidelines for
treatment of acute MI; preventing central line
infections; ventilator associated pneumonia;
surgical site infections; and adverse drug
events.
“This
initiative attacks the problem in the best of
ways,” states Cynthia Rawlinson, VH Director of
Performance Improvement. “These efforts focus on
system improvements based on sound published
evidence. They do not rely on the blame
mentality that is so detrimental to patient
safety and quality improvement.
“All of the
recommended actions require a team effort –
doctors working with nurses and other personnel
as a force for change,” Cynthia continues. “The
AMA is throwing its support behind the program
by using its communication and education
resources to get physicians involved.”
What each
organization does and how well it implements
these measures and the outcomes will be recorded
as part of the campaign. Each organization will
track, measure and report its results to be
measured against raw mortality data. However,
all results will be reported by the national
study to the public in aggregate, not by the
individual organization, to determine the
campaign’s overall progress and effectiveness.
As Cynthia
explains, staff will be working together as a
system to discuss these interventions, their
applicability at each site, and strategies for
accomplishing them. All staff are invited to be
part of this campaign to make healthcare safer
and more effective – to ensure that we achieve
the best possible outcomes for all our patients.
“Many aspects of this program, in terms of
quality improvement changes, are already ongoing
at each site,” notes Cynthia, adding that they
align with existing JCAHO and CMS measures.
“The names of
the patients whose lives we save can never be
known,” Cynthia states. “Our contribution will
be what did not happen to them – possibly
death or a serious complication.” Personally,
Cynthia is very excited to be part of this
national campaign to disseminate and use
powerful improvement tools and information to
our healthcare providers. “VH is committed to
providing safe, quality care to the communities
we serve. Saving lives and helping patients is
why we are here,” she sums up.
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