Chairperson's File
Blog posts from 2024 AHA Board Chair Joanne M. Conroy, M.D., CEO and president of Dartmouth Health, and past chairs.
43,750: That's the number of fall injuries the CMS Partnership for Patients campaign estimates would be prevented over three years if hospitals cut preventable fall injuries by 50% in 2013. Essentia Health in Fargo, N.D., aims to decrease preventable falls in its cardiac telemetry unit by 25% by…
What a difference three years of focusing on performance improvement can make! In 2009, metrics at Research Psychiatric Center in Kansas City, Mo., showed high rates for falls and use of restraints and low rates for employee and patient satisfaction. RPC adopted the Baldrige performance excellence…
One successful initiative can lead to another. A “nurse transitionist” program at Western Maryland Regional Medical Center, a 275-bed hospital in Cumberland, MD, has contributed to a reduction in readmissions. This program and several other initiatives have helped WMRMC decrease…
Increasing patient adherence to medications? Check. Providing safe, patient-centered care? Check. Improving transitions of care? Check.
Involving everyone from front-line staff to executive committees to home health agencies to patients' families, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta significantly reduced infections among its pediatric patients. The campaign started at the 529-bed health care organization in 2006 with the goal to…
'Commitment to caring' and 'quality improvement' and'patient engagement' are more than catchphrases at UNC Hospitals. They are embedded in the culture at the 804-bed academic center in Chapel Hill, N.C. For example, Commitment to Caring teams identify opportunities and follow up with plans to…
Building a culture of quality and safety in hospitals requires accomplished and courageous health care leaders: leaders who ensure care is provided systematically and who remain committed to achieving the highest levels of quality. The Comprehensive Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship, a program…
A just culture. A culture of transparency. A patient-first culture. Culture transformation at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland encompasses all of these things and more to achieve quality and safety. In a just and transparent culture, all employees are encouraged to voice their…
Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, a 347-bed public hospital in Bronx, N.Y., has established a true partnership with its community, which includes a diverse population and economic challenges for many. In addition to 160,000 ED and 440,000 ambulatory care visits, the medical center connects…
Focusing on patient education and collaboration with physicians and the hospital, Gundersen Lutheran's care coordination program has achieved remarkable results. The program has not only improved patient outcomes but also reduced health care costs. The 325-bed health system, based in La Crosse…