JRMC clinicians take part in training

A three-person team of clinicians from Jamestown Regional Medical Center recently participated in a day-long, interactive Clinical Design Day training, held in Chicago, developed and facilitated by VHA Inc. The CDD training employs a cultural, sociological and anthropological methodology to aid hospitals in their efforts to improve patient safety.

“Our approach begins by addressing culture, which has been shown to not only facilitate improvement, but sustain it,” said Keith Kosel, executive director of VHA’s Hospital Engagement Networks initiative. “In the long run, true culture change is the proven catalyst of meaningful improvement.”

HEN are part of the historic Partnership for Patients initiative launched by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and its Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Participating hospitals are expected to develop, test and share best practices as part of an effort to improve patient safety and reduce the incidence of harm related to 10 specific hospital acquired conditions, such as catheter-associated urinary tract infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia. CMS’s goal for the Partnership for Patients is to reduce preventable harm by 40 percent and preventable readmissions by 20 percent by the year 2013.

Todd Hudspeth, JRMC CEO, expressed enthusiasm about the hospital’s participation in the Partnership for Patients initiative, as well as use of VHA’s approach to addressing cultural issues as part of the overall improvement process.

“Improving patient safety and clinical outcomes for our patients continues to be our ongoing priority. Our participation in VHA’s Clinical Design Day provided us with tools and processes we can use to achieve and sustain our patient safety goals,” Hudspeth said. “We believe that using the improvement methodology we learned, along with tools such as VHA Leading Practice Blueprints (leading clinical practices from top hospitals across the country), will be essential to our success. Participating in VHA’s HEN will help us achieve our patient safety goals faster, as well as contribute toward achieving the Partnership’s objectives.”

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