The Leapfrog Group announced today the hospital safety scores for more than 2,500 hospitals across the nation.  These scores are based on a total of 28 national performance measures from multiple sources – the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Hospital Association’s annual survey.  Taken together, these performance measures produce a single score representing a hospital’s overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors.   Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital is pleased to announce it received an “A” grade based on its quality and safety metrics.
 
“We are proud of our ongoing work that resulted in an “A” grade from the Leapfrog Group,” said Steve Kitchen, MD, senior vice president and chief medical officer. “This score reflects a significant improvement in many of our quality and patient safety measures as a result of the commitment and efforts of many dedicated professionals throughout our organization.  We realize that this is a continuous journey and will continue to vigorously pursue our quality improvement efforts.”
 
Some initiatives Phoebe has implemented to improve quality and patient safety include:

·         Implementation of dedicated performance improvement teams to monitor such measures as Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections, Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infections, Surgical Site Infections and other healthcare associated infections.  As a result, we have seen a significant decline in the number of infections since these teams have been deployed, with all measures better than the national average.

·         Implementation of the Leapfrog recommended high intensity staffing model which ensures all patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit are cared for by a trained critical care physician whose sole responsibility is caring for patients in the ICU.

·         Participation in the American College of Surgeons’ national surgical quality improvement program, which is nationally recognized as the leading outcomes-based program for measuring and improving surgical care. Many of the best performing hospitals participate such as Johns Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic, and Mayo Clinic.

·         Institution of leadership rounding where members of senior administration regularly make rounds on clinical areas to provide support to those on the “front lines” and ensure they have all the necessary resources to provide excellent care.

·         Reinforcing hand hygiene - one of the simplest and most effective means to reduce the number of healthcare associated infections.

·         Formation of a system-wide Patient Safety and Quality Committee - created with the specific goal of improving quality and patient safety, ultimately establishing a means for the Board to provide greater oversight and higher degrees of accountability for clinical performance.

·         Creation of a transition of care initiative - This system-wide initiative was created with a goal of streamlining processes both within the hospital and outside-(physician offices, nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities and others) to make patient care more efficient and patient centered.  Over 60 people participated in this 3-day event, including representatives from physician offices, nursing homes, and other stakeholders.  Several action teams were formed as a result of this project, and efforts are ongoing to further improve and refine these processes.

·         Implementation of the Antibiotic Stewardship Policy - The Medical Executive Committee adopted this policy to insure the appropriate use of powerful, broad spectrum antibiotics. Indiscriminate or inappropriate use of these antibiotics has been shown to increase the likelihood of multi-drug resistant organisms and higher rates of healthcare associated infections, such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and C Difficile.
 
The above initiatives are representative of Phoebe’s vigilant efforts to ensure patient safety and quality care.

“We will continue to focus on our ongoing quality and patient safety improvement initiatives.  There is no place for complacency, and we embrace the concept of continuous quality improvement, where our efforts are always directed towards finding opportunities to improve our processes and provide exceptional care to all patients.  Rather than dwell on any particular grading score, our focus will continue to be on providing the best possible care for all we serve.”