Implementing a patient safety and quality program across two merged pediatric institutions

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Pediatric Quality Improvement
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Academic medical centers utilize consolidation for efficiency and cost reduction.
• New York-Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) formed in 1997 through a merger.
• A dedicated Patient Safety and Quality Program was established in 2006 to address challenges in the Children's Service Line.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a unified pediatric safety and quality program across two hospital campuses.
• To implement consistent safety practices and standards throughout both children's hospitals.
• To improve the overall quality and safety of care for pediatric patients.

Main Methods:

• Formation of bicampus children's quality councils reporting to a steering committee.
• Establishment of safety and significant-events subcommittees for focused reviews.
• Organization of the program around five key themes: safety culture, infection reduction, harm reduction, health IT, and care effectiveness measurement.

Main Results:

• Successful implementation of a bicampus pediatric quality and safety program.
• Demonstrated improvements in patient safety and healthcare quality across both institutions.
• Initiatives like family engagement and adverse medication event prevention showed successes and highlighted areas for continued development.

Conclusions:

• Establishing a pediatric safety and quality program across multiple campuses presents challenges.
• Despite challenges, the program has led to significant improvements in care quality and patient safety.
• The collaborative approach fostered better outcomes for pediatric patients at both hospitals.