UPMC Northwest recently received the Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania’s (HAP) “In Safe Hands” achievement award for its initiative to reduce patient fall and injury rates.
The award was presented Tuesday during a meeting at the Seneca hospital by Paula Bussard, who is UPMC’s chief strategy officer.
Each year, HAP honors hospitals and health systems for their innovation, creativity and commitment to patient care through the achievement awards program. The primary goal of the program is to showcase and share member hospitals’ and health systems’ innovations and best practices in a variety of areas.
UPMC Northwest was one of just 12 winners selected from nearly 125 entries in 2016.
In an effort to improve the rate of patient falls, the hospital falls committee re-evaluated the falls reduction program and identified a way to achieve and sustain improvements to patient safety through staff knowledge and engagement.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) says falls with serious injury are among the most frequently occurring hospital-acquired conditions leading to longer lengths of stay and higher health care costs per event.
“Last year, the UPMC Northwest falls committee changed the way the monthly meeting was structured, splitting the meeting into two distinct parts,” said Amy Triola, UPMC’s regional director of quality and patient safety.
Triola said the first part focused on the usual review of data and breakdown of individual fall events. The second part involved committee members splitting up and walking around to individual units to observe, engage peers in dialogue about patient falls and prevention of injury, as well as soliciting feedback about barriers and challenges in reducing falls and the use of prevention strategies, Triola said.
“The committee members came back together for the final few minutes of the meeting to share their findings,” Triola said.
As a result, from February 2015 through March 2016, the falls rate remained under the goal each consecutive month, according to Triola.
“Our first year data for the rate of falls and rate of injury from falls showed the success of mobile meetings not only in driving patient safety results but also the ability to gather, explore and implement fresh ideas for patient safety,” Triola said.