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Keeping our patients safe is our number one priority and it takes everyone in our organization to be involved every day in providing the safest most reliable care. Our Big Aim is to keep patients safe by reducing the likelihood of experiencing an adverse event when our patients come to us for care.
Since we launched the Big Aim in April 2010, quality improvement initiatives – big and small - are underway across the organization. The whole hospital is tackling reducing C. Difficile, Falls With Injury and Hospital Acquired Pressure Ulcers. Staff and physicians are getting down to business to ensure that everyone is following best practices to prevent C. Difficile – through good hand hygiene, rigorous environmental cleaning, and the practice of Antimicrobial Stewardship (the “right drug for the right bug”). We are also making sure that we work hard to reduce the risk of injury from falls while in our care and to reduce the risk of developing a pressure ulcer while in our care.
Kathy Millar, Vice President of Quality, Safety and Performance Excellence notes that we have seen improvements: There are fewer falls with injury, an overall decrease in hospital-acquired cases of C. Difficile, and a reduction in pressure ulcers. The successes so far have been achieved through targeted programs, tracking progress, audits, and the diligent attention of staff on the front lines, management, Board members and senior leaders all working together to improve patient safety.
Our dedication to patient safety was recognized in the Ontario Hospital Association's 2010 Patient Safety Guidebook entitled, Advancing Patient Safety Through Ideas and Innovations. "It is satisfying to be recognized for the hard work that has gone into advancing quality and patient safety at St. Joe's and hopefully this will inspire other organizations to continue (to find innovative ways) to Put Patients First by providing the safest care," said David Golding, Manager of Access Services at St. Joseph's.
Talking about and sharing our results as an organization is a crucial step in helping us to achieve our Big Aim and we do this in several ways. Every week we post our results and talk about how well we are doing and look for opportunities to improve our performance. Every quarter our Big Aim indicators are communicated via our scorecard which helps every one of our programs and services and our Board to know how we are doing!
Every week, leaders in the organization “report out” on our progress towards achieving the Big Aim and other key quality indicators. This weekly report occurs at "The Wall" lead by the CEO where the Senior Leadership Team, directors, managers, physicians and staff update the organization on our progress. It provides everyone with an opportunity to hear about and celebrate our success so far and to engage the team in joint problem solving so we continue moving in the right direction.
On a daily basis, the Health Centre checks in by doing audits of environmental cleaning, hand hygiene, and reports on any and all hospital acquired cases of C. Difficile. This information is rolled out to all work areas in patient care rounds and team huddles to discuss the latest results. With all of the work we have done in the last several years using Lean tools to improve patient access and flow, engaging with staff through Executive Patient Safety Rounds to advance our culture of patient safety, and giving staff and leaders the skills they need to lead and participate in quality improvement work, we are confident our audacious Big Aim goal is achievable.