HANYS awarded its 2011 Pinnacle Award for Quality and Patient Safety to three institutions in recognition of their accomplishments improving the quality and safety of health care for their patients: North Bronx Healthcare Network, Bassett Medical Center, and Mercy Hospital of Buffalo/Catholic Health System.
HANYS established the Pinnacle Award for Quality and Patient Safety in 2001 to celebrate significant achievements by its members in the areas of quality improvement and patient safety. The program recognizes successful quality improvement and patient safety initiatives and encourages broad dissemination of best practices.
The three facilities were honored on Thursday, June 23, at HANYS’ 43rd Annual Membership Conference.
“North Bronx Healthcare Network, Bassett Medical Center, and Mercy Hospital of Buffalo demonstrate the commitment of New York’s health care providers to making continuous improvements in the quality and safety of patient care,” said HANYS President Daniel Sisto.
“The success of these initiatives reaffirms just how much strong leaders and a dedicated staff can accomplish together when they focus on a common goal. As health care reform requires physicians and hospitals to work together even more closely toward a shared vision, successful innovations like those recognized by HANYS’ Pinnacle Award will continue to serve as a model for health care providers throughout the United States.”
System Category Winner: North Bronx Healthcare Network
In the System category, HANYS’ prestigious 2011 Pinnacle Award for Quality and Patient Safety was presented to the North Bronx Healthcare Network for its Reducing Adverse Outcomes on Labor and Delivery program. Recognizing that shoulder dystocia, Erb’s Palsy, and other perinatal events are devastating to newborns and their families, North Bronx Healthcare Network launched a successful campaign to reduce occurrences of these adverse events. The initiative focused on the analysis of obstetrics department risk management data and implementation of facility-specific oxytocin bundles, management protocols, and TeamSTEPPS® training.
Through these efforts, North Bronx Healthcare Network:
Large Hospital Category Winner: Bassett Medical Center
Bassett Medical Center was awarded this year’s Pinnacle Award in the Large Hospital category for its program, Reducing Readmissions by Leveraging a Comprehensive Care Transitions Approach.
Seeking to reduce patient readmissions and improve quality across the continuum of care, Bassett Medical Center used an evidence-based approach that included high-risk screening tools, readmission risk reduction strategies, hiring a patient services coordinator for post-hospital contacts and interventions, arranging primary care appointments within five days prior to discharge, an “800” number for patients to call any time before their first primary care visit, and automated communications with primary care providers upon admission and discharge.
As a result of these changes:
Small Hospital or Division/Specialty Category Winner: Mercy Hospital of Buffalo/Catholic Health System
In the Small Hospital or Division/Specialty category, the winner of HANYS’ 2011 Pinnacle Award for Quality and Patient Safety is Mercy Hospital of Buffalo/Catholic Health System in recognition of the success of its Improving Hospital Access and Efficiency of Care for Our Community program.
Recognizing that emergency department (ED) overcrowding and patient flow bottlenecks are a barrier to access and chief cause of long wait times, Mercy Hospital of Buffalo evaluated key indicators in patient flow and developed a plan to make transformational changes in its fundamental care delivery systems. The organization implemented two major strategies: a comprehensive admission reception expert (CARE) unit and a patient access center (PAC). The CARE relies on “pulling” systems to prepare patients for admission, discharge, or transfer to alternative care providers. PAC is a “24/7” service that coordinates all bed activity, such as transfers and direct admissions, to avoid the ED.
As a result of these changes:
