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The Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence website highlights quality improvement stories at hundreds of hospitals and health care systems across the country. These stories describe the results, challenges and lessons learned from successful initiatives to improve operational excellence; population/…
In July of 2009, Olean General Hospital embarked on a journey to improve outcomes for cardiac patients. The initiative began with the development of the hospital's chest pain center program, which represents coordination of processes for early recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of patients…
North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System opened a facility to treet heavioral health and primary care services for veterans and their families all under one roof. Working with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the center brings together specialists from both Long Shore-Long Island Jewish…
The NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System implemented multidisciplinary ICU mobilization teams to get critically ill patients in the intensive care unit moving faster. This improves patient outcomes by reducing length of stay. Teams of nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and a variety of therapists…
Erie County Medical Center's 'boots on the floor' initiative began by hiring five full-time patient advocates to provide concierge services for patients within the hospital. The scope of this initiative expanded from 'every patient, every time' to 'every person, every time' to include the…
North Shore University Hospital's palliative care unit emphasizes quality of life by providing patients and their families the care and support they need. This family-centered unit features private rooms, 24/7 visiting hours and pet therapy. Experts are on hand to relieve symptoms such as:
The goal of this project was to reduce the number of injection errors occurring at the hospital's primary care clinics. After an increase of injection errors, it was determined that a standardized process was not developed after the implementation of the electronic health record. The project…
The C. diff collaborative is an ongoing initiative that was developed to improve the early identification and treatment of patients during acute inpatient hospitalization. One goal was to develop early identification of 'community onset' C. diff. Another goal of this project was to decrease health-…
The project catalyst noted inconsistencies in providing diagnosis-related, evidence-based interventions to all applicable patients. This resulted in varied patient outcomes. In February 2013, the readmissions team, in conjunction with the hospital's home health agency, implemented 10…
Blood transfusions to treat anemia can have a significant impact on patient outcomes. It was recognized that transfusion practices varied among health care providers; many clinicians question the best practice for blood product use. With today's limited supply of blood products and increasing…