Newsroom
North York General Hospital Pioneers of Participation — With Six Patient Care Initiatives in Safer Healthcare Now! Campaign

Toronto, June 28, 2005 – North York General Hospital is excited to announce its participation in all six patient care interventions of the Safer Healthcare Now! campaign. Safer Healthcare Now! is the Canadian version of the 100K Lives campaign developed by the U.S. Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). Both programs aim to save additional lives by launching six targeted interventions in patient care to healthcare organizations across Canada and the U.S. Implementation of these improvement interventions is achieved through collaborative participation of hospitals across the country communicating through the Internet.

“North York General Hospital is participating in all six interventions because each has been proven to have a high impact on improving patient care and the health of patients. They save lives by reducing adverse events which are often preventable,” says Bonnie Adamson, President & CEO, North York General Hospital. “The benefits for the health care system are also unlimited. These interventions can reduce readmission rates and a patient’s length of stay, and can improve family and staff satisfaction.”

“As one of only two Canadian hospitals that joined these IHI collaboratives two years ago, we’ve demonstrated our staff and physicians’ dedication to improving patient care and safety. Everyone responded with great enthusiasm to these patient care interventions,” says Susan Kwolek, Vice President, Quality and Corporate Performance, North York General Hospital. “Traditionally, knowledge-based studies of patient care improvements are slow to become best practice and/or standards of care. Involvement in collaborative campaigns enable our staff and physicians to become more proactive in providing quality and compassionate patient care.”

North York General Hospital is already participating in several other collaboratives: reducing ventilator associated pneumonia and reducing central line catheter related blood stream infections, both in the Critical Care Unit (CrCU) and an improving patient flow collaborative. North York General also participated in another collaborative to reduce blood loss and improve transfusion practices in the CrCU. The hospital is currently initiating the projects for the four other interventions of the Safer Healthcare Now! campaign. The Critical Care Unit collaborative are two of the six interventions in Safer Healthcare Now!

“This collaborative approach to practice improvement and improved patient care in the Critical Care Unit has rallied our staff morale to new heights. The team feels this is a progressive way of communicating best practice and keeping an open dialogue with hospitals across the world through the Internet,” says Dr. Donna McRitchie, Medical Director, Critical Care, North York General Hospital.

North York General Hospital is committed to implementing all of the six quality improvement changes offered in the Safer Healthcare Now! campaign:
• Deploy Rapid Response Teams – by allowing any staff member, regardless of position in the chain of command, to call upon a specialty team to examine a patient at the first sign of decline;
• Deliver Reliable Evidence-Based Care for Acute Myocardial Infarction – by consistently delivering key measures – including early administration of aspirin and beta-blockers – that prevent patient deaths from heart attack;
• Prevent Adverse Drug Events through Medication Reconciliation, which requires that a list of all of a patient’s medications (even for unrelated illnesses) be compiled and reconciled to ensure that the patient is given (or prescribed) the right medications at the correct dosages – at admission, discharge and before transferring a patient to another care unit;
• Prevent Central Line Infections – by consistently delivering five interdependent, scientifically grounded steps collectively called the “Central Line Bundle”;
• Prevent Surgical Site Infections – by reliably delivering the correct perioperative antibiotics, maintaining well-controlled glucose levels and appropriately preparing the surgical site;
• Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia – by implementing five interdependent, scientifically grounded steps collectively called the “Ventilator Bundle” – such as elevating the head of the hospital bed to between 30 and 45 degrees – thereby dramatically reducing mortality and length of stay in the Intensive Care Unit.

“Staff feel empowered. Our approach to patient care is proactive, looking for solutions rather then intervening after complications have developed,” says Cathie Badeau, Unit Administrator, Intensive Care Unit, North York General Hospital. “With each new level of success, our teams become more resourceful. This really benefits our patients, families and our entire multidisciplinary team.”

For more information, contact:
Destiny Pickford
Media Relations and Communications Coordinator
North York General Hospital
Ph: (416) 756-6693
Email: dpickfor@nygh.on.ca