SOURCE:
VHA
2008-08-25 09:37:00
IRVING, TX–(EMWNews – August 25, 2008) – Twenty-one hospitals across six states have come
together to focus on improving clinical quality and patient safety by
eliminating barriers to nurses spending more time in direct patient care.
A VHA survey showed that many nurses spend less than 30 percent of their
time in direct contact with patients. Studies indicate that increasing
nursing involvement in direct patient care improves the quality and safety
of the care that is delivered.
The 21 hospitals have joined what’s known as a Rapid Adoption Network
(RAN), a virtual network that will allow them to share information about
their clinical practices for the purpose of accelerating the pace of
clinical improvement, cutting improvement time to less than one year. The
RAN is sponsored by VHA Inc., the national health care alliance. A unifying
focal point for the RAN will be the clinical blueprint VHA has developed to
help its members focus on increasing direct patient care time for nurses.
The participating member hospitals, from Colorado, Idaho, Montana,
Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming, include:
-- Billings Clinic, Billings, Mont. -- Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, Bozeman, Mont. -- Campbell County Memorial Hospital, Gillette, Wyo. -- Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, Cheyenne, Wyo. -- Community Medical Center, Missoula, Mont -- Exempla Lutheran Medical Center, Denver, Colo. -- Glendive Medical Center, Glendive, Mont. -- Gunnison Valley Hospital, Gunnison, Colo. -- Longmont United Hospital, Longmont, Colo. -- Portneuf Medical Center, Pocatello, Idaho -- Regional West Health Services, Scottsbluff, Neb. -- Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services, Gallup, N.M. -- San Juan Regional Medical Center, Farmington, N.M. -- St. John's Medical Center, Jackson, Wyo. -- St. Luke's Magic Valley Regional Med Center, Twin Falls, Idaho -- St. Luke's Regional Medical Center, Ltd., Boise, Idaho -- St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center, Ketchum, Idaho -- St. Peter's Hospital, Helena, Mont. -- Vail Valley Medical Center, Vail, Colo. -- Wyoming Medical Center, Casper, Wyo. -- Yampa Valley Medical Center, Steamboat Springs, Colo.
“I firmly believe the key to improving quality is having nurses at the
bedside. Our current practice has created diversions that pull nurses from
consistent bedside nursing,” said Yvonne Kirk, BSN, Ph.D., vice president
of patient care and chief nursing officer at St Peter’s Hospital, Helena,
Mont. “I was thrilled to learn about VHA’s Rapid Adoption Network. Our
participation in this initiative has opened a door of networking for our
staff that is invaluable.”
“VHA’s clinical improvement platform focuses on helping members become
leading performers,” said Trent Haywood, M.D., J.D., chief medical officer
at VHA. “Our programs and services will help guide members towards success
and improve clinical care across the country.”
“Hospitals are working hard to improve the quality and safety of their
nursing care. Return to Care is one critical strategy to help them do
so,” said Karen Smit, Director of Performance Improvement, VHA Mountain
States regional office in Denver, Colorado. “By focusing on nursing
issues, we are having an immediate impact on the quality of care that is
delivered to all patients.”
A Rapid Adoption Network is one component of VHA’s overall clinical
improvement platform, which also includes:
-- Leading Practices Portal -- a Web-based tool specifically designed to provide hospitals with a faster and more efficient path to adopting leading practices. Hospital members can view Leading Practice Blueprints™ and can also compare the gaps in their processes against the leading practice -- Leading Practice Blueprints™ -- Sophisticated, yet simple to follow, process maps based on ethnographic research at top performing VHA members. These blueprints were developed by carefully studying the clinical, engineering and design factors that are important to each leading practice hospital and integrating these elements into a powerful visual format -- Clinical Educational Series -- Multimedia formatted educational programs provide year-round access to leading performers and leading practices
About VHA — VHA Inc., based in Irving, Texas, is a national alliance that
provides industry-leading supply chain management services and supports the
formation of regional and national networks to help members improve their
clinical and economic performance. With 16 offices across the U.S., VHA has
a track record of proven results in serving more than 1,400 not-for-profit
hospitals and more than 23,000 non-acute care organizations nationwide.
Major Newsire & Press Release Distribution with Basic Starting at only $19 and Complete OTCBB / Financial Distribution only $89
Get Unlimited Organic Website Traffic to your Website
TheNFG.com now offers Organic Lead Generation & Traffic Solutions