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Quality Expo
Quality Expo
Quality Expo
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CELEBRATING QUALITY
SwedishAmerican has had an unwavering focus on quality and its continuous improvement. Although the approaches over the years have taken different forms, the commitment to quality has remained constant. Each year, we recognize the individuals, processes and initiatives behind our quality efforts through Quality Expo and the Dr. Henry C. Anderson Quality Award.
Quality Expo
An event for area businesspeople and decision makers, Quality Expo highlights the health system's cutting-edge technology, prevention/wellness initiatives, quality processes and individuals who contribute to our organization's endless pursuit of quality.
At Quality Expo, we take attendees behind the scenes to places that many of them have never seen before, providing an opportunity to experience healthcare in a whole new way. Our physicians and professional staff, who are enthusiastic about demonstrating their expertise and accomplishments, engage in meaningful dialogue with attendees, answering many of the questions they've always wanted to ask.
Henry C. Anderson, M.D.
Henry C. Anderson, M.D.
Throughout his long association with SwedishAmerican, Henry C. Anderson, M.D., was instrumental in our health system's quality initiatives.
Before serving as vice president for professional affairs and chief quality officer, Dr. Anderson earned his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin and practiced family medicine in Rockford for more than 40 years.
Dr. Anderson's contributions played an important role in SwedishAmerican's designation as a Top 100 Hospital, it's receipt of the Lincoln Award for Excellence and being named the winner of the National Quality Cup by USA Today and the Rochester Institute of Technology.
His many career highlights include being a charter fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, a diplomat of the American Board of Family Practice, a member of the American College of Physician Executives, a clinical instructor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford, and past president of the active medical staff at SwedishAmerican Hospital.
During his career, Dr. Anderson also was a frequent national presenter on the issue of quality in health care.
Dr. Henry C. Anderson Quality Award
In 2002, SwedishAmerican developed the Dr. Henry C. Anderson Quality Award to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to improving healthcare quality. The award bearing Dr. Anderson's name reflects the values he brought to our organization: a commitment to excellence; sound judgment; principled leadership; and exceptional integrity. Recipients meet these rigorous tests and set invaluable examples for others. The SwedishAmerican Henry C. Anderson Award is about instilling passion throughout the organization, and is our highest expression of distinction and appreciation.
Dr. Chantal Girod (2010)
Chantal Girod, M.D.
Dr. Girod is a passionate advocate of quality improvement and personifies the attributes recognized in the award. Of note is her ability to embrace new and emerging practices in quality while suggesting practical approaches for their implementation. Whether it's her role as physician, facilitator or team leader, Dr. Girod's approach to quality improvement is consistent and comprehensive. She has demonstrated that she can see the "big picture" of where healthcare is going as an industry, yet can work on the finer details associated with patient care. In addition, she consistently volunteers her time and commits herself fully to projects.
Her nomination reads: "Dr. Girod saw an opportunity to improve medication refill protocols. She realized that clinical staff did not have good tools in the electronic medical record that would prompt physicians to check certain criteria as they prepare refills that are approved by them. She brought this concern to the attention of the MSO Quality Committee and offered to facilitate a solution. Consequently, she partnered with the EMR department to develop electronic tools (checklists) that retrieve key information used in preparing refills. Furthermore, these tools "walk" staff through refill protocols and prompt them to check refill criteria. After several weeks of troubleshooting and using her practice as a test site, the protocols were rolled out to all the primary care practices in the Medical Group. These tools were quickly adopted and have now become a standard in the way medications are refilled."
In addition, Dr. Girod saw the need to better prepare clinic staff to work as a cohesive team during the first 5 to 10 minutes of emergency response drills (between recognition that a patient may be in trouble and arrival of the emergency medical staff). She has led this initiative from its conception. Emergency response drills are being conducted in every MSO clinic during 2010 to prepare staff and to ensure that the necessary equipment and medications are available. All equipment will be standardized, so staff will easily recognize the red emergency response bag no matter what clinic they are working at. Medications also will be standardized and available in unit dose. The drills will not only teach clinic staff how to address an emergent situation, but they will help identify issues that need improvement.
Her persistence paid off, as both of these initiatives have been implemented and are now widespread practices throughout the clinics.
Emergency Department Team (2010)
Emergency Department Team
The second Henry C. Anderson Award for Quality recipient is the Emergency Department Team. The team was led by Ellen Goldsworthy and consisted of ED staff, physicians and clinical pharmacists.
The focus of this team is to reduce the number of patients who leave without being seen (LWBS) by a physician in our ED. LWBS can be an indicator of patient satisfaction and quality, and has been a focus of the ED for the past three years. Not only is there a clinical impact of not caring for our community, there also is a financial impact of roughly $1.2 million in lost charges annually. The team implemented a multi-pronged approach for reducing our LWBS rate and overall patient throughput. From several teams working to reduce admission-waiting times from 220 minutes to 90 minutes to initiating a house-wide policy to rapidly facilitate the flow of patients out of the ED, these processes have decreased the LWBS rate and resulted in several operational changes and a new cultural awareness throughout the hospital.
Congratulations to Dr. Chantal Girod and the Emergency Department Team on their achievements, and for earning the Dr. Henry C. Anderson Award for Quality!
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