This week, KHA and the K-HIIN team are conducting a two-day TeamSTEPPS program at Clark Regional Medical Center in Winchester. Twenty-seven hospital employees from Clark Regional Medical Center and Bourbon Community Hospital are attending the program. TeamSTEPPS is a program of teamwork tools aimed at optimizing patient outcomes by improving communication and teamwork skills among health care professionals. 

If you are interested in learning more about TeamSTEPPS or if you are interested in hosting a program in your facility, please contact Donna Meador at KHA (dmeador@kyha.com).

KHA and the K-HIIN group recently recognized Amy Griffith, RN, from Rockcastle Regional Hospital as the newest Patient Safety Hero Awardee. Griffith was nominated by Tammy Brock, the hospital's quality/patient safety director, for her efforts in leading patient safety improvements throughout the hospital. Brock noted that Griffith has taken the lead role in reducing readmissions in the organization and discharge phone calls are a huge part of that. 

Griffith was instrumental in instituting a new discharge call system, training and implementing the system, analyzing the data from the system and more. Griffith discovered the hospital's patients did not understand the medication sheet that was sent home with them, so she worked to create a better discharge medication sheet. She has taken over the role as a "care manager" and makes sure the discharged patients have everything they need to be successful at home. In one instance, a wife could not get her husband to his follow-up doctor's appointment, so Griffith worked with the doctor's office and the office's nurse practitioner was able to make a home visit.  

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KHA and the Kentucky Hospital Improvement Innovation Network (K-HIIN) recently recognized Donna Davis, chief nursing officer at Georgetown Community Hospital with a Patient Safety Hero. Davis was nominated by Georgetown's CEO William Haugh for her efforts in leading patient safety improvements throughout the hospital. 

Per Haugh, Davis was the first CNO within LifePoint Health to become a Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) by the National Patient Safety Board. In 2016, she led way for Georgetown Community Hospital to reduce the overall HEN HAC rate to 3.719 per 1,000 patient days, which was a 35% reduction from 2015. She also lead the organization to an overall readmission rate of 4.1% in 2016, which is below the national average and the 2015 GCH rate of 5.5%. Finally,...

The Kentucky Institute for Patient Safety and Quality (KIPSQ) will hold two Safe Table meetings in April on Disinfection and Cleaning Reusable Items. Gail Horvath of the ECRI Institute will present, and 2.4 hours of nursing CEUs are available.  

April 12  Registration deadline: April 10  1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. (ET) Hardin Memorial Hospital  Elizabethtown

April 19  Registration deadline: April 17  10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (ET)  Saint Joseph East-Women’s Hospital Lexington

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is collaborating with the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), which will merge with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in May, to celebrate Patient Safety Awareness Week (March 12-18) through a series of activities recognizing the importance of keeping patients safe in all health care settings:

An ...

The K-HIIN Kick-Off Meeting will provide insight into how the Kentucky Hospital Improvement Innovation Network (K-HIIN) will use the successes of the Hospital Engagement Network (HEN) to launch the next phase of this national initiative for quality and outcomes improvement in hospitals. Attendees will learn about the goals and requirements of the HIIN and how the innovations, virtual learning opportunities and hospital-level techniques of the program will take your improvement work to the next level.

View the brochure for agenda details, and register online today to reserve your seat for this important meeting.

If you have any questions, please contact Sharon Perkins at KHA (sperkins@kyha.com).

On August 29-30, the Kentucky Hospital Engagement Network (K-HEN) will conduct a Patient Safety TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer Workshop, hosted by KHA in Louisville. Patient Safety TeamSTEPPS training will provide participants with the skill sets needed to build a culture of safety within their organization. Participants will learn to organize the work of patient safety and empower clinicians with the use of tools to effectively manage conflict and implement change.

For details, view the brochure. Reserve your spot today by registering online.

If you have any questions, please contact Sharon Perkins at KHA (sperkins@kyha.com).

The KIPSQ Safe Table Meeting scheduled for tomorrow, January 21, in Madisonville has been cancelled. There is no rescheduled date at this time. If you have questions, contact Sharon Perkins (sperkins@kyha.com) at KHA. For more information on upcoming Safe Table Meetings, view the brochure and registration information on the KIPSQ website at http://www.kipsq.org/Portals/26/EventBrochures/SafeTableMeetings.pdf.

KIPSQ will conduct a Safe Table topic every month in three different locations thoughout the state for members of the PSO. Participants will:

Generate candid discussion and share organizational experiences on patient safety and quality issues Exchange information about bet practices relative to patient safety Encourage coordinated/collaborative efforts and new partnerships Network and communicate A brochure and registration information are available on the KIPSQ website at http://www.kipsq.org/Portals/26/EventBrochures/SafeTableMeetings.pdf.

For more information on the benefits of your facility joining KIPSQ, visit www.kipsq.org or contact Nancy Galvagni (ngalvagni@kyha.com)  or Sharon Perkins (sperkins@kyha.com)...

The Kentucky Institute for Patient Safety and Quality (KIPSQ) is partnering with the Anthem Foundation to provide education, tools and resources to improve care and long-term outcomes for mothers and newborns. The Anthem Foundation has provided grant funding for hospitals to engage in a collaborative patient safety and quality program aimed at reducing early elective deliveries (EEDs), reducing obstetrical harm by preventing unnecessary cesareans, reducing adverse outcomes from oxytocin use and reducing OB hemorrhage. Additionally, resources will be provided to hospitals to improve the rate of breast feeding.

The program's first newsletter is now available. The first edition shares details about the program, successes the participating hospitals have already achieved, upcoming educational events, information on...

The Connecticut Hospital Association shared the following incident with the Kentucky Institute for Patient Safety and Quality (KIPSQ), KHA’s Patient Safety Organization, for distribution to its members in the hopes that it will prevent a harm event in hospitals.

On May 16, Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticut, announced that during a daily safety huddle (begun as part of the hospital’s participation in their statewide high reliability collaborative), it had identified an issue regarding the use of insulin pens — devices intended to make insulin injections more efficient and accurate. They consist of a cartridge and needles. While needles were never reused, a few staff used the cartridges for more than one patient. Despite changing the needles, there is still slight risk of blood contamination of the pen reservoir or cartridge, which could result in transmission of blood-borne pathogens from the previous patient.

Griffin has used the insulin pens for several years and has identified approximately...

KHA has received a grant from the Anthem Foundation to support the “Improving Patient Safety for Mom and Baby” initiative. The project kicks off March 28 with a webinar at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Kentucky hospitals that offer birthing services already strive to provide the best and safest care for moms and babies, and want Kentucky to show the best possible outcomes, both short term and long term. Unfortunately the commonwealth still has lower rankings in several areas:

Kentucky's most recent six-month rate of Early Elective Deliveries is 10.9 percent, which is still significantly higher than the Centers fore Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) goal of 3 percent or less; Kentucky's “ever breastfed” rate is 52.6 percent compared to the national rate of 76.5 percent; Kentucky’s overall C-section rate is 34.6 percent compared to the national Cesarean rate of 31.8 percent; and Obstetrical hemorrhage is an increasing problem across the nation. To help Kentucky hospitals...