2011 National Patient Safety Awareness Week
The Quality Management Department organized a successful 7 day lobby event in celebration of National Patient Safety Awareness Week from Monday, Feb. 28th through Tuesday, March 8th, 2011. 15 volunteers helped out with this event, including 4 who were bilingual Spanish-English and 8 who were bilingual Chinese-English.
Volunteers discussed and entertained questions about hand washing techniques and the proper way to cover a cough in order to prevent the spread of infection, promoted the use of AskMe3 - a strategy to increase patient involvement and improve communication between patients and their doctor about their medical problems, how to use the "Take Care New York" passport to better one's health, and using a medication log to keep track of their medicines. They also distributed handouts about preventing falls in the elderly.
Over 100 patients/visitors stopped by the booth. Many were enthusiastic about the lessons learned and suggested that we continue this service to help other patients.
D & TC First Prize Team:
Carolyn Bachino, Devika Nandlall, William Calabrese, MPA, PA-C, Che Yu, Director of Volunteer Services
Volunteers:
Judy Aquina, Steven Cajamarca, Jayson Choi, Sedley Kinghorn, Helen Lei, Cindy Olvina, LeShauna Pasmore, Dana Ribaudo, Whitney Sher, Alan Shum, Michael Shin, Jay Wu, Jing Wu, Michelle Wu
SNF Team:
Project Leader: William Bateman, Project Coordinator: Lena Lim
Team Members: Joseph Poon, MD, Alexander Kolessa, MD, William Calabrese, PA-C, Menga Niu, CNA, Angela Chin, HN Suzette Tan, SN, Omine Denizard, SN, Lya Maryse Payen, SN, Theodore Hilado, ADN, Linda Cheung, SN, Patricia Cunningham, HN, Marie Pierre, SN, Janet Cuaycong, DON, Basmy Basher, Clara Stringer Auld, MD
HHC's Patient Safety Expo
To recognize the accomplishments of each HHC facility in promoting patient safety, a patient safety expo is held each year in conjunction with Patient Safety Awareness Week, a nationally celebrated event. Facilities are asked to submit a poster/storyboard that briefly summarizes the topic chosen, its goals, the results or outcomes, improvements noted and lessons learned.
There are 4 award categories, one for each type of facility (DTC, Hospital, and LTC) and a People's Choice award. Gouverneur received top awards in both the SNF and DTC categories- an outstanding accomplishment. The DTC submitted a project entitled "Improving Patient Safety by Utilizing Trained Volunteers to Augment Patient's Health Literacy and Communication Skills". It started as a project in 2006 with seed money from the United Hospital Fund. The program is now underwritten by Gouverneur and it utilizes trained college and/or graduate students to improve patients' understanding and skills related to managing multiple medications, interpreting a drug label, and promoting patient involvement through a program known as Ask Me 3 TM.
The SNF project, entitled "Improving Outcomes for Residents on Anticoagulation Therapy" was designed to meet the standards of care for the monitoring and controlling of INR levels for all residents taking Warfarin (Coumadin), a blood thinner. Team members also received recognition as the team that was selected to receive the Patient Safety Champion Award. This is a tribute to the improved safety and efficacy they achieved as well as the level of interdisciplinary collaboration they demonstrated. Congratulations to all team members and volunteers.
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