Awards

Quest for Excellence Award

Community Hospital staff receiving the 2011 Quest for Excellence award during the Nebraska Hospital Association annual convention in October include from left: Sean Wolfe, Lisa Egle, Misti Soderlund, Ryan Morthole and Jim Ulrich.

Community Hospital and Great Plains Regional Medical Center recognized for award-winning quality programs

LINCOLN—The Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2011 Quest for Excellence award, Community Hospital in McCook and Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte.

The Quest for Excellence award is a joint initiative of the Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA), CIMRO of Nebraska, the Nebraska Health and Human Services System and the Nebraska Association for Healthcare Quality, Risk and Safety. The Award showcases exemplary and reproducible models of patient care to the rest of the health care community. This was the seventh year for the award, designed to recognize and reward hospitals for their quality improvement achievements.

In addition to the award plaque, each winning hospital received a $1,000 cash prize. The award winners were recognized at the Caring Kind Luncheon on October 21, 2011 during the NHA 2011 Annual Convention in La Vista, Nebraska.

The winner in the critical access hospital category, Community Hospital, was recognized for the successful implementation of a process improvement for outpatient injection and infusion services.

The Outpatient Injection/Infusion Process consists of five primary levels of service, from simple injections to chemotherapy. The new process was put into place on July 15, 2010, which included designated rooms and nursing staff. With designated rooms, the hospital is able to provide increased capacity, consistency, and more efficient care to the patients while the designated nursing staff helps to maintain a higher level of patient safety with better patient/staff relationships, increased medication knowledge, and advancement in the provided services. The results from the new process have been very impressive, validating the success of the process improvement effort and demonstrating an increase in quality of service while decreasing the time a patient spends getting that service.

The results demonstrated clear use and analysis of data for this quality initiative, as well as achieving measureable results sustained over time. Community Hospital met its goals for improving the process, increasing patient safety, developing consistent documentation and medication education, and providing patients with a service that is safer and more patient-centered.

The winner in the non-critical access category, Great Plains Regional Medical Center (GPRMC), was recognized for their quality initiative focused on a process that identifies early sepsis and manages severe sepsis and septic shock using evidence-based medicine.

The results demonstrated active administrative support, education and training, the development of additional screening tools, utilization of electronic documentation and, ultimately, an impressive decrease in mortality, sustained over time.

Great Plains Regional Medical Center’s application stated, “GPRMC has successfully implemented evidence-based practices that have reduced patient deaths. The data over time supports that the changes are sustainable. This initiative is a shining example of GPRMC’s mission to provide the kind of health care we would want for our families, in partnership with those we serve.”

As winners of the Quest for Excellence award, Community Hospital and Great Plains Regional Medical Center have exhibited outstanding dedication to patient safety and health care quality. Their projects have proven results and can be implemented by other hospitals and health care facilities.