INTEGRIS Canadian Valley Hospital Improves Patient Safety and Quality
with VHA Hospital Engagement Network
INTEGRIS Canadian Valley Hospital announced today that it has made care safer for its patients as part of its work with VHA Inc.’s Hospital Engagement Network. VHA is a national network of not-for-profit health care organizations that work together to improve performance and efficiency in clinical, financial and operational management. VHA’s HEN helps hospitals improve in eleven areas of focus ranging from falls and surgical site infections to readmissions as part of the federal Partnership for Patients initiative.
The goal of the initiative was to reduce preventable harm by 40 percent and readmissions by 20 percent by the end of 2014. Based on the latest interim results VHA’s HEN hospitals, in aggregate, met or exceeded the goals of the Partnership for Patients in 10 of the 11 areas of focus.
VHA gave special recognition through a quarterly honor roll to hospitals that achieved “top performer” or “most improved” status in one or more areas of focus. A “top performer” sustained a zero rate for three consecutive quarters for a given outcome measure. A “most improved” hospital demonstrated greater improvement for a given outcome measure than the remaining 90 percent of the HEN hospitals.
INTEGRIS Canadian Valley Hospital was recognized for achieving the Platinum Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Partnership for Patients by reporting data at the highest level across the areas of focus.
“Patient safety and ensuring we are providing the highest quality of care for our community has always been our highest priority,” said Teresa Gray, chief nursing officer at INTEGRIS Canadian Valley Hospital. “In the last year, we have reduced patient falls, pressure ulcers and adverse patient events in the areas of central line-associated blood stream infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia through the hard work and commitment of staff and our continued focus on applying best practices.”
“It is gratifying to see the results VHA’s HEN hospitals have achieved, and it builds on our long-standing commitment to help hospitals improve their performance,” said Dr. Keith Kosel, vice president and program director for VHA’s HEN.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced a new report that shows an overall 17 percent decrease in hospital acquired conditions nationally from 2010 to 2013 including reductions in adverse drug events, falls, infections and other forms of hospital-induced harm. The department estimates that its public-private partnerships including efforts from the federal Partnership for Patients initiative, Hospital Engagement Networks and others, have prevented nearly 50,000 deaths in hospitals, and saved approximately $12 billion in health spending during the same period.
