In opening remarks at the 15th Annual Christiana Care Way Awards ceremony, Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH, president and CEO of Christiana Care Health System, observed that the annual awards program reflects the innovative work and partnership of Christiana Care’s extraordinary people to achieve optimal health and exceptional experience for the people that we serve and each other, and organizational vitality for the health system.

Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH

“This is the work of serving together, guided by our values of Excellence and Love,” said Dr. Nevin.

“These awards encourage us to be health care innovators, to use our resources wisely and effectively, to be curious and continuously look for ways to innovate, and to seek new knowledge and be open to change. But most importantly, these awards exemplify the love and respect our caregivers show to each other, by committing to be exceptional today and even better tomorrow.

“Your projects recognize that we are always looking for ways to do better in our service to our community,” she said. “As the extraordinary people of Christiana Care, you demonstrate your commitment and innovation, and it is an honor to acknowledge your work and the difference it makes every day.

“We collaborate throughout the year and find opportunities for improvement, and we work together to develop solutions, carry out plans and measure their success, whether it’s about improving a process or impacting an outcome. And by doing this, together, we continue to create value for the people that we serve.”

The Christiana Care Way awards date back to 2002. The program challenges physicians, nurses and staff to identify opportunities for improvement, then collaborate in using the Plan-Do-Check-Act or Lean Six Sigma DMAIC models to develop and execute plans that achieve positive results.

Sharon Anderson, RN, BSN, MS, FACHE

“Each year, judging the Christiana Care Way Awards gets harder and harder,” said Sharon Anderson, MS, BSN, RN, FACHE, chief population health officer and senior vice president, Quality and Patient Safety. “The quality of the entries and the results of the projects are as impressive as ever. It is a pleasure to watch how teams come together to drive improvements that benefit our patients and the community we serve. It truly is a privilege to be part of such an inspiring event.”

More than 300 people turned out for the 15th annual Christiana Care Way Awards celebration Jan. 30 at the John H. Ammon Medical Education Center.

Thirty-two winning projects selected from the 125 sets of storyboards submitted for the 2017 contest were determined by 134 volunteer judges from across the health system.

Winners of the 2017 Christiana Care Way Awards President’s Award.

President’s Award

The 2017 President’s Award went to “CareVio Community — Right Care, Right Place, Right Time.” Traceable back to the Medical Home Without Walls program in 2012, CareVio Community seeks to identify people in the community who are struggling with a combination of social barriers to health and at least one poorly controlled medical diagnosis. Once identified, patients receive support for both their medical and social needs. They learn to manage their medical conditions while receiving support and community services that help them to be successful. The result is an authentic caring experience for the patient and family, better health and reduced cost of care, as patients are able to prevent the need to seek treatment at the emergency department.

CareVio Community has engaged 235 participants, with an additional 2,000 individuals served annually through community outreach at St. Patrick’s Center. More than 9,200 interventions were completed, including linkages to community medical care, transportation, health education and financial assistance. Hospital utilization among these patients fell 37 percent.

The People’s Choice Award went to “Tumbling Newborn Fall Rates: A Campaign for Prevention.”

People’s Choice Award

The People’s Choice Award went to “Tumbling Newborn Fall Rates: A Campaign for Prevention.” After review of newborn falls data for spring 2016 in the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators, the inpatient mother/baby units realized their fall rate, at 10.8 per 10,000 live births, was higher than the national average. In response, the unit adopted a new education process for staff and families, and increased observation for sleepy families during hourly rounding. The intervention worked: units 3B/3C/4B have recorded zero newborn falls since April 2016.

The winning project of the Magnet Transformational Leadership Award, “Neuro-Alert: Hemorrhagic Stroke Expedited Transfer Process from ED to NCCU,” aimed to decrease Emergency Department length of stay, improve patient outcomes, increase patient safety and facilitate collaboration and communication across departments.

Magnet Transformational Leadership Award

Eight awards were related to Christiana Care’s Magnet hospital accreditation goals in the categories of Transformational Leadership, Exemplary Professional Practice, New Knowledge and Structural Empowerment. The winning project of the Magnet Transformational Leadership Award, “Neuro-Alert: Hemorrhagic Stroke Expedited Transfer Process from ED to NCCU,” aimed to decrease Emergency Department length of stay, improve patient outcomes, increase patient safety and facilitate collaboration and communication across departments. A collaborative effort involving the Christiana Hospital Emergency Department and the Neuro Critical Care Unit (NCCU), the team developed a neuro-alert process for non-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhages to reduce transfer times and bring the neuro-critical care team immediately to the ED bedside. Overall results were a mean ED arrival to NCCU arrival time decreased by 60 minutes; ED arrival to NCCU consult decreased by 37 minutes; NCCU consult to NCCU arrival decreased by 58 minutes; and CT Completion time to NCCU arrival decreased by 44 minutes.

2017 Christiana Care Way Awards winners

The remaining awards, in the order in which the were presented, are:

Residents

  • Lost in Translation – Improving Documentation of Interpreter Utilization

Health Equity

  • Communication/Language Is Key: Optimizing Language Interpreters Staffing at Christiana Care Health System

Population Health

  • Nurse Driven Influenza Vaccination Program in Outpatient for Cardiac Catheterization

Operational Improvement

  • Bronze: Streamlining Post-Discharge Appt Scheduling
  • Silver: Integrated Prenatal Care Bundle -Ultrasound Clinic Pilot
  • Gold: Success of a System-wide Infection Control Tiger Team

Learning

  • Central Line Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI)

Magnet

Exemplary Professional Practice

  • Bronze Award: Preventing Injury from Falls While Increasing Post-op Mobility
  • Silver Award: HAPI Prevention in Hematology/Oncology Patients
  • Gold Award: Optimizing Medication Education: A Timed-Release Dose

New Knowledge, Innovations & Improvements

  • Silver Award: Turning the Hemodynamically Unstable Patient
  • Gold Award: Save a Tree, Scan a Document

Structural Empowerment

  • Silver Award: Improving Neonatal Resuscitation in the Delivery Room Using Video Recording
  • Gold Award: Reducing Specimen Defects in Women and Children’s Health

Innovative Tools

  • Code Blue: Digital Guidance Using iPads

Extraordinary People

  • The Route Less Traveled

Strategic Partnerships

  • Healthy Latinas Program: Improving Access

Organizational Vitality

  • Room Air — Quality Care

Exceptional Experience

  • Silver Award: Reduce Patient Arrival to OR Arrival Time
  • Gold Award: Checking In After Checking Out: The Impact of Discharge Phone Calls

Optimal Health Quality Award

  • Silver Award: Engaged Teamwork to Reduce Severe Maternal Morbidity
  • Gold Award: Reducing CABG 30-Day Readmissions

Optimal Health Safety Award

  • Bronze Award: Reducing Tracheostomy Related Pressure Injuries
  • Silver Award: Situation Awareness: Patient Information Huddle to Focus on Safety
  • Gold Award: Testing Stewardship to Reduce Cases of Hospital-Onset C. difficile Infection

Value Award

  • Silver Award:Reducing Low-Yield Neonatal Head Ultrasounds: Sometimes Less is More
  • Gold Award: TIME Pathway – Gives Back to Moms and Babies!

Best Learning Through Failure

  • Reducing Radiation Exposure in Trauma Patient Imaging

Transformation

  • You Have to Rise Before your Fall; Increasing Awareness in Reducing CLABSIs

Zero Harm and Good Catch Awards

The awards ceremony also recognized 59 Zero Harm Awards and three Good Catch Award winners.

The Zero Harm program recognizes the achievement of zero preventable patient harm for 12 consecutive months for any single harm measure, such as C-diff infection, central-line-associated bloodstream and other infections, falls with no major injury, and hospital-acquired pressure ulcers. Zero Harm Awards highlight the achievement of high reliability and innovative approaches to enhance patient safety.

Good Catch Awards recognize the prevention of patient harm through vigilance and awareness of the environment that affects patient care. This year’s three winners were Medication History Technician Marguerite Bailey, CPhT; Surgical Technician Kimeesha Gambles of Christiana Hospital OR; and Radiology Nurse Practitione Amy DeVece, MSN, FNP-BC, APRN, CEN, CCRN.

Photo Gallery: 2017 Christiana Care Way Awards

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