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In 2008, the health system's program to contact discharged emergency department (ED) and immediate care (IC) patients by telephone was recognized as a best practice by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Three years ago, the health system further innovated by implementing an electronic…
Restraint documentation was a challenge at the hospital for multiple reasons, including the implementation of a new computer system in 2013. Staff were trying to familiarize themselves with the new workflows, while taking care of patients and attempting to comply with regulatory agencies. One year…
This health system's employee influenza vaccination policy compliance rate was less than 70 percent, putting it below the 75.2 percent national average for health care workers in 2013-2014. The system set a goal of achieving 90 percent compliance with its mandatory influenza vaccine policy for…
In response to high readmission rates coming from the health system's skilled nursing facility (SNFs) partners, it instituted a new comprehensive transition of care (TOC) model. The transition coach (TC) acts as a liaison between the hospital system and SNFs to prevent readmissions, facilitate…
Today more than ever, it is important to focus on reducing unnecessary testing and unneeded emergency department (ED) visits to manage costs. Well-established probability scoring systems for many disease states and hospital electronic medical record systems can be used to help create hospitalwide…
After reducing health care-acquired deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary emboli (PE) in 2011, the hospital observed an increase in these events in 2013. As a result, a new team was created on July 31, 2013 to improve the processes of ordering and implementing venous thromboembolism (VTE)…
Bronchiolitis, one of the most costly and frequent medical diagnoses seen at the hospital, is a seasonal viral infection of the lungs that affects children less than two years of age. A multidisciplinary team was created in December 2013 to implement a bronchiolitis clinical care guideline (CCG).…
The hospital identified an opportunity to improve its discharge planning process to allow more time to be spent with patients and reduce duplication of duties within the case management and social work department. Utilization reviews were performed for case managers, social workers and clerical…
This project addresses the health care system's strategic initiative to ensure interdisciplinary palliative care teams deliver sustainable, high-quality services within their health ministries. The palliative care teams' goal was to increase palliative care consults by 10 percent. To do…
At a 350 bed community teaching hospital, potentially preventive readmissions data from the Illinois Health and Hospital Association revealed that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rates were significantly higher than expected despite organizational readmission reduction efforts. The…