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Easing the Pain for Babies, Families
NICU team improves service scores and provides better service by educating new parents about infant pain management.
- Caregivers want not only to manage babies’ pain but also alleviate parents’ anxieties and help them know what to expect.
- Use a consistent script to discuss pain management during the admission process and keep parents informed throughout the baby’s stay in the NICU
No One Walks Alone
From an average of 16 patient falls per month, the number went down to three a month.
- Both patients and morale were suffering at the San Diego Medical Center telemetry unit, which had twice as many patient falls as the next-worst unit.
- Treat every patient as a fall risk and ensure each patient is accompanied — especially to and from the bathroom, when most falls occur
Priority Prescriptions in 15 Minutes
Pharmacy team does better than regional goal, filling 88 percent of high-priority prescriptions promptly.
- Team overcame challenges — the department was undergoing a remodel and adjusting to a new robot dispensing device—to meet a regional “fill now” goal.
- Team implemented a quiet zone, which reduced distractions.
A Drop in Patient-Lifting Injuries
No staff injuries related to patient handling for 140 days thanks to signs, better communication.
- Absences, stress and worker’s compensation claims decreased when patient-handling injuries were reduced to zero in 140 days, down from two to four per quarter.
- Used signs to visually remind to nurses and other staff about the importance of working safely.
Teams Collaborate to Ease Workload
Processing HPV tests now takes less than half the time, so the workload increase has been absorbed with no extra staff.
- Colorado labs process two widely used tests central to Kaiser Permanente’s preventive care approach that detect disease early when treatment is highly effective.
- Teams cross-trained each other on new equipment and on the processes within the two departments.
Summer Interns Jump-Start UBT Projects
Summer interns advanced 12 UBTs at least one level on the Path to Performance.
- UBTs get a fresh perspective and daily support to launch projects, while interns gain on-the-job training that translates to their studies and the work world.
- Interns were given performance improvement training and then assigned to help Level 1, 2 and 3 UBTs launch projects
Preventing Patient Falls
Team reduced patient falls by 40 percent in one year.
- Keeping patients safe is a top priority.
- Daily huddles and debriefs
Preventing Pressure Ulcers
The team went two years without a single instance of a serious pressure ulcer resulting from a respiratory aid.
- We are committed to keeping patients free from hospital-acquired ulcers
- Testing and evaluating new, better supplies and equipment
Small Changes, Healthy Babies
Increase in percentage of little ones with all immunizations current.
- Vaccines help prevent disease.
- Give shots in the exam room instead of the injection clinic
Better, Affordable Care
Cut an average of a day off the length of patient stays.
- Patients get to go home sooner.
- Track and standardize patient mobility protocols
Making Early Detection Easy
Fully 90 percent of patients overdue for screenings agreed to get screened after getting prompted by this eye care team.
- Kaiser Permanente’s unique electronic health record and focus on preventive care helps identifying cancer early. And early treatment saves lives.
- Coaching team on using prompts then tracking how often staff members remind patients to get screenings
Giving Bad Joints the Boot
Instead of patients staying in the hospital two or three days, about 64 percent were discharged within a day of surgery.
- The best place to recover from joint replacement surgery is at home.
- Nurses make post-discharge calls to patients and discuss at team huddles