Caring People and Responsive Programs page 1

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Patient safety remains at the core of all that we do.

A call for a Rapid Response Team will bring a team of nurses, technicians and a physician to a patient’s room for timely intervention.

Backus Hospital is proud to participate in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's 100k Lives Campaign, which aims to reduce inpatient deaths nationwide by 100,000 per year. We embrace this effort as part of our overall commitment to quality improvement and patient safety, and we continue to evaluate each program and service we offer through our Quality Improvement Department.

As part of this patient safety initiative, Backus instituted a Rapid Response Team, in which a group of clinicians stands at the ready to bring critical care expertise to the bedside at a moment's notice. After months of preparation and training, the Rapid Response Team became a reality in August, and has been in place 24 hours a day ever since. The team allows specially trained clinicians to recognize potential problems with patients earlier, so that if a patient develops troubling signs, immediate steps can be taken to intervene.

Our Hospitalist program made it possible to implement the Rapid Response Team project. The expertise of these Hospitalemployed physicians who specialize in inpatient care is available on-site, around the clock at Backus Hospital.

Backus is also participating in other aspects of the 100k Lives Campaign, including:

  • An increased focus on care provided to heart attack patients
  • Ensuring an accurate record of medications on a patient's admission and discharge
  • Preventing blood stream infections from IV catheters
  • Preventing infection of surgical wounds
  • Preventing pneumonia in patients on breathing machines.

In October, the Board of Trustees approved funding to purchase ROBOT-Rx, a robotic system that will eventually help automate our drug dispensing process using bar code technology — a safety measure that is gaining national attention.

The pharmacy robot will help enhance patient safety through “the five rights”: right medication, right dose, right patient, right route of delivery, right time. It will also free up pharmacists and technicians to participate more directly in patient care activities and help streamline inventory management. Studies show this can significantly reduce the possibility of medication errors.

The compassionate care providers at Backus Hospital continue to be recognized nationally for outstanding healthcare practices.

Twice in the past year, Backus has been named among the top hospitals in the nation for delivering high quality healthcare.

Total Benchmark Solution rated Backus 38th among all hospitals in the entire nation, based on data provided to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Another independent evaluator of clinical data ranked Backus among the top 5 percent of all hospitals nationwide for clinical quality.

The rankings are based on categories of data provided on heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia care. Our scores remain well above the nationwide and state average in most areas.