Congratulations to Memorial Regional Hospital, the flagship facility of Memorial Healthcare System, for receiving the 2011 American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize®.

According to the American Hospital Association (AHA), the goals of the AHA-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize® are “to raise awareness of the need for a hospital-wide commitment to highly reliable, exceptional quality, patient-centered care; reward successful efforts to develop and promote a systems-based approach toward improvements in quality of care; inspire hospitals to systematically integrate and align their quality improvement efforts throughout the organization; and communicate successful programs and strategies to the hospital field.”

“The prize honors hospitals that:

• have committed in a systematic manner to achieving the Institute of Medicine's six quality aims—safety, patient-centeredness, effectiveness, efficiency, timeliness, and equity;
• can document progress in achievement of all six of the IOM aims; and
• provide replicable models and systems for the hospital field.”

Memorial Regional Hospital, located in Hollywood, Florida, is a public hospital in which “the passion for quality improvement is palpable at all levels—top down and bottom up. Notable for its achievements in all six aims, work on patient- and family-centered care and equity stand out, as do efforts in effectiveness, timeliness and efficiency.”

Memorial uses “Crew Resource Management” adapted from the aviation industry, to foster teamwork and improve safety. According to Zeff Ross, Memorial’s CEO and Senior Vice President “We no longer think in silos…[our patients are] touched by every department in the hospital.” Also, the organization has adopted the “Just Culture” framework, which recognizes that mistakes and errors are often the result of imperfect processes and systems.

Patient and family engagement in the care process—working side by side—changes the culture of the organization. Family is defined by the patient, and family presence at the bedside is unlimited. Patient and family advisors are active participants in key hospital meetings and provide input in many areas of hospital operations, including participating in the design for new buildings and renovations, working on safety, performance improvement, and risk management teams, planning and bringing to fruition the Patient and Family Resource Center, and partnering with staff in a multitude of other projects, programs, processes, and policies.

Susan J. Montgomery serves as the Director for Patient- and Family-Centered Care Services at Memorial Regional Hospital. She has served on the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care's seminar faculty team and, most recently, served as a lead for materials development for an Institute's Train-the-Trainer initiative for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Mr. Ross, when asked what to advise other organizations, said, "This is a journey...a journey that is worth the walk, the effort, and the time, to stay focused on the patient and the family.”

The Institute is proud to recognize Pinwheel Sponsors whose hospitals previously have received the AHA-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize®: in addition to Memorial Healthcare System, Bronson Healthcare Group (2009 Prize) and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (2006 Prize) are recipients. Congratulations!

For more information, see Jennifer Edwards' article, Memorial Healthcare System: A public system focusing on patient- and family-centered care, The Commonwealth Fund (July 2010).

A recent article, Incorporating Patient- and Family-Centered Care Into Resident Education: Approaches, Benefits, and Challenges, Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 3(3), 272-278, (June 2011), addresses the importance of patient- and family-centered care in the medical education of residents. The article explores the status of patient- and family-centered care in participating programs, barriers to patient- and family-centered care graduate medical education, simple and far-reaching approaches to actively engaging residents in patient- and family-centered care, and suggestions for incorporating patient- and family-centered care—at the national level—into residency curricula, teaching, and assessment. The authors—Philibert, Patow, and Chichon—conclude, “Respectful communication with patients/families needs to be learned, supported, and continuously demanded of residents.” For patient- and family-centered care to be sustainable it must be a “fundamental expectation for resident learning and attainment of competence.” Furthermore, “improving the environment for patients also improves the environment for learners.”    

The Picker Institute/Gold Graduate Medical Education (GME) Foundation Challenge Grant Program recently announced the 2011/2012 Picker-Gold GME grantees. This grant program provides annual grants to support the research and development of innovative projects designed to facilitate successful patient-centered care initiatives and best practices in the education of future practicing physicians. The Picker Institute/Gold Foundation Challenge Grant Program funds proposals that “illustrate specific interventions and innovations in graduate medical education programs regarding patient-centered healthcare and/or humanism in medicine.” Grantees are expected to demonstrate, and have a “robust dissemination plan” of the “measurable effects and sustainability of the effort to enhance compassionate, patient-centered care in residency education.”

In selecting the recently announced 2011/2012 recipients, the committee looked for proposals that could assist in identifying and demonstrating the efficacy of Always Events™—events that are “procedural and substantive actions that should accompany every patient experience” and are “reflected in the experiences that the patient always experiences. Picker’s Always Events™ program is highlighted in the March/April 2011 Pinwheel Pages.

Congratulations to the Pinwheel Sponsors whose hospitals received GME awards during one of the last three grant cycles: Brigham and Women’s Hospital (MA), Children’s Mercy Hospitals & Clinics (MO), Children’s National Medical Center (DC), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (MA), Hasbro Hospitals of Rhode Island (RI), and Johns Hopkins University (MD).

Find out more about the Picker-Gold Foundation Challenge Grant Program, the next cycle of grant applications, and the current and previous award winners. Learn more about the Pinwheel Sponsors program.

The Hospitals and Communities Moving Forward with Patient- and Family-Centered Care Intensive Training Seminar, to be held in Madison, Wisconsin, November 7-10, 2011, will offer three and a half days of comprehensive and practical sessions designed to help administrative leaders, board members, physicians, nurses and other staff, patients, and families become effective agents for patient- and family-centered change in their organizations. Participants will gain the knowledge and skills to begin to transform health care within hospitals, ambulatory care settings, and community practices to address the challenges and recommendations discussed in the Institute of Medicine’s report, Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century and more recently, the National Priorities Partnership’s report, National Goals and Priorities: Aligning Our Efforts to Transform America’s Healthcare.

In addition, participants will have plenty of networking opportunities, and can sign up for a tour of UW Health's American Family Children’s Hospital (AFCH). Space will be limited to tour this 61-bed pediatric hospital adjacent to UW Hospital and Clinics. Prior to its opening in 2007, AFCH engaged patients, families, and staff in every stage of the design and selection of the “All Things Wisconsin” themed decor to create an ideal patient- and family-centered care environment. The tour will be Tuesday, November 8 at 3 pm. See the Seminar Brochure for more information.

Nurses, physicians, and social workers will be able to receive Continuing Education Units (CEUs). As with other Intensive Training Seminars, the Institute is seeking CEU credit with Maryland Nurses Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, and National Association of Social Workers. General information can be found in the Seminar Brochure, and updated CEU information will be posted on the registration website. 

A special thanks to UW Health ~ University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, for its leadership support for bringing this seminar to Madison.

Early Bird Registration Open Through September 6th!

REGISTER NOW

Check out the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) new training simulation, Partnering to Heal: Teaming-Up Against Healthcare-Associated Infections. It is a great training tool for use by health professionals, students, patients, and their families to learn more about patient safety concepts.

Participants can choose to play any of five different roles—four health care professionals as well as a family member—and make decisions based on the situations each encounters. Players can then see how those decisions play out for each of the characters. This simulation is intended to encourage different audiences to understand the goal of preventing infections and to make the personal commitment to prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs). Learn more about the HHS Initiative to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections.

The Institute is thrilled that The 5th International Conference will be held in Washington, DC, June 4-6, 2012.

The Call for Abstracts for the Conference, now closed, drew an impressive response of nearly 400 abstracts from the United States, Canada, China, Japan, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and other countries. After an internal review by Institute staff, abstracts will be sent out for external review by health care professionals and patient and family leaders across the globe. Presenters will be notified of the decisions of these experts in patient- and family-centered care in October and Conference registration will open in late fall, 2011. For a comprehensive look at 2011 Pinwheel Sponsors, conference topics, and exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities for The 5th International Conference, see the Call for Abstracts Brochure. 

Washington, DC, the Nation’s Capital, offers a vast array of attractions for attendees: from the national monuments and the Smithsonian museums, the White House and Capitol Building, to fine shopping and dining in DC’s various neighborhoods. Participants may visit Georgetown, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a variety of other theaters, sports venues, parks, and gardens. The options are endless and you may just want to extend your stay before or after the Conference to take advantage of the opportunity to do a bit of touring.

The Conference will be held at the Omni-Shoreham Hotel, a Washington Landmark, which is a AAA four-diamond hotel nestled on 11 acres in Rock Creek Park. The hotel has many amenities, including an outdoor heated pool and gardens, is located a block away from the Woodley Park Metro Station, and is down the street from the National Zoo.

Check the Institute's website for more information on The 5th International Conference.

Thanks to Our Summer Intern

Carolina Millan Ronchetti, the Institute’s summer intern, is once again saying goodbye. The Institute staff is delighted that Carolina rejoined the staff during her summer vacation from McGill University. Thanks again, Carolina, for all your fantastic contributions. We will miss you, your competence, and your sunny disposition. All the best at college!