Zeroing in on zero harm: Innovative quality and safety initiatives from Children’s National experts

Leaders at Children’s National Health System recently showcased innovative quality and safety initiatives on a national stage at the Children’s Hospital Association’s 2018 Quality and Safety in Children’s Health Conference. While collaborating with other medical professionals in the field, the team made an impact by sharing key projects implemented at Children’s National to enhance patient care and reduce harm, including:

• • Safety in Numbers: Driving 10,000 Good Catches – Presented by Rahul Shah, M.D., vice president, chief quality and safety officer, and Rebecca Cady, Esq, BSN, vice president, chief risk officer: Recognizing barriers to reporting safety events, Children’s National embarked upon a three-year corporate goal to double the number of safety event reports, ultimately leading to reduction of preventable harm. By promoting staff accountability and using incentives to drive reporting, incident reports more than doubled in a three-year time frame.
  • Moving from Disjointed Spreadsheets to a Real-Time Data Management System – Presented by Evan Hochberg, R.N., patient safety consultant, and Neil Bhattarai, C.S.T., process improvement consultant: Tracking hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) requires robust data capabilities, which is why Children’s National sought to improve its HAC data system with increased efficiencies and reduced delays in how staff presented data to the hospital. The team recognized opportunities to improve the management of HAC data, leading to the finding that increased real-time awareness of harm events while utilizing existing infrastructure can accelerate harm reduction.
  • Improving the Surgical Experience for Children with Autism – Presented by Terry Spearman, C.C.L.S., manager of child life services: Staff at Children’s National found that many patients with autism entering the operating room needed special support to make it through pre-op, complicating their path toward surgery and causing frustration for patients, families and the care team. The team solved this challenge by creating a system to identify patients before they arrived for surgery, which allowed staff to create a safe passage plan for each patient and to achieve better care coordination with all care team members. Titled “Help Me Keep Calm,” the hospital’s program provides a more peaceful and individualized experience for both the patient and his or her family.
  • IMPACT Session: Enhancing Psychological Safety to Improve the Safety Climate – Presented by Rahul Shah, M.D., vice president, chief quality and safety officer; Evan Hochberg, R.N., patient safety consultant; and Kathryn Jacobsen, R.N., director of patient safety: Psychological safety around event reporting is a crucial element of safety culture and the ability to voice concerns without reprisal leads to the ideal safe environment.