John
D. Thompson Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Healthcare
Through the Use of Data
This
prestigious award is presented annually to the hospital
that most exemplifies excellence in patient care through
the use of data, as demonstrated by the improvement of internal
operations and procedures. The award, in its 14th
year, is sponsored by CHA's education and research affiliate,
the Connecticut Healthcare Research and Education Foundation
(CHREF) and is presented at CHA's Annual Meeting.
St.
Vincent's Medical Center is the recipient of the 2007
John D. Thompson Award for dramatically improving mortality
rates through redesigning its leadership structure to improve
accountability for outcomes.
Through
a strategic planning process, the organization aligned key
goals, making the senior team accountable for the execution
of tactical activities and projects that also "rolled down"
to middle management and front-line staff. Merit increases
were tied directly to goal and tactic achievement.
The
organization assembled multi-disciplinary teams for: reducing
the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia and central
line infection; developing and implementing a rapid response
team to reduce Med/Surg Code 99s; improving management of
hyperglycemia in the ICU; and improving core measures performance.
"It is
encouraging to see the dramatic improvements that can be
achieved through the creation of an operationally effective
infrastructure for performance improvement," said Kerry
Eaton, RN, MS, Vice President, Patient Outcomes. "Consistently
providing the highest quality of care
to our patients is an ongoing endeavor, requiring the cooperation
and dedication of everyone on the care team. It's great
to feel like we are on the right road and moving in the
right direction."
