HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement articles from January 2004

HealthCare Benchmarks and Quality Improvement archives from January 2004

Control charts: valuable quality tools if you know why, when to use: not every process is an appropriate target.
January 1, 2004... Control charts, quality tools that can help tighten the focus on process variations, increasingly are gaining acceptance among some health care quality professionals. In fact, a number of Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare...

System launches 3-level plan to cut ED crowding: simultaneously, diversions removed 'cold turkey'.
January 1, 2004... In response to emergency department (ED) overcrowding, Baptist Memorial Health Care in Memphis, TN, is launching an educational campaign focused on area EDs. A Tennessee Hospital Association study released last December found that ED visits in...

Pediatrics program just the beginning of safety overhaul: adverse events at Duke University triggered response from CMS.
January 1, 2004... Duke University Health System, in Durham, NC, is taking the opportunity to learn from the errors that may have led to several recent adverse events in its pediatrics department and to use those lessons learned to improve patient safety across...

Flexible job options help maintain quality: positions for older staff keep expertise levels high.
January 1, 2004... Unique and creative hiring practices at Bon Secours Richmond (VA) Health System not only have boosted morale and helped offset job shortages, but they also have ensured a larger pool of qualified health care professionals for quality assurance...

Translation web site aids broad patient population: site includes forms, educational material.
January 1, 2004... Responding to the growing cultural diversity of Missouri's hospital patients, the Missouri Hospital Association (MHA), based in Jefferson City, has launched a new web site, www.health translations.com. The site offers admission agreements,...

New in-room TVs part of service excellence: wall-mounted sets made bedside care easier, safer.
January 1, 2004... As part of a three-year cultural initiative called Service Excellence," Norwalk (CT) Hospital is enacting a variety of programs to make patients more comfortable. One program involves renovating all 238 rooms to create a more contemporary...