Loring Hospital Receives Quality and Safety Award

Loring Hospital was recently the recipient of The Iowa Healthcare Collaborative (IHC) Healthcare 2018 Quality and Safety Award. This award recognizes outstanding leadership and achievement in quality and safety demonstrated by healthcare providers and organizations. Members of the Loring Hospital nursing staff will be presented the award at the March 6^th Patient Safety Conference in Ankeny.

Loring Hospital’s award focused on Bedside Shift Reporting involving the family, updating the white boards in each patient room, and using teach-back. The Bedside Shift team developed a report, performed audits and observations to make sure Bedside Shift Reporting was happening for every patient every time. Once the Bedside Shirt Reporting was in place, the team’s focus turned to improving patient rounding. Purposeful rounding became the team’s quality project in 2016-2017. A committee of RNs, LPNs, CNAs, and ward clerks began research and set a plan in place to improve consistent rounding, again for every patient every time.

Loring constantly monitors patient satisfaction scores and noticed an increase from 80% to 86% of overall satisfaction during the timeframe when Bedside Shift Reporting and improved Purposeful Rounding occurred. “Bedside Shift Reporting and improvements to our Rounding process have proven to be beneficial to our patients, families and staff,” according to Kara Wellington, Loring nurse manager. “We are excited about our outcomes and will continue our journey of continually providing exceptional healthcare,” she stated.

This award honors champions who support initiatives that improve patient safety, promote population health, reduce the risk of harm and encourage person centered health. Loring Hospital is proud to be a recipient of this award.

Those pictured are: Meg Nugent, IHC Senior Vice President Clinical Affairs; Loring staff - Emily Lange, Sharon Badertscher, Kara Wellington, Tracy Foote; and  Dr. Tom Evans, President of IHC.