Other Titles

Clinical Session: Healthy work environment collaborations

Abstract

Session presented on Saturday, April 13, 2013:

Effective decision making is best achieved when those who have a stake in the decision have an opportunity to have input during the decision making process. As part of the implementation of TeamStepps, and in alignment with the organizational professional practice model - Collaborative Care, North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) initiated Collaborative Care Councils (CCCs) in 2007. These Councils, which are unit based and feed into a Central Council, are designed to enhance interdisciplinary communication, foster healthy work environments, and support decision making by those closest to the work being addressed. Typical representation at Council meetings may include nurses, advanced practice providers, patient care associates, social workers, case managers, physical and respiratory therapists, pharmacists, dieticians and physicians. Through the forty six CCCs currently active at NSUH, all levels of staff have a forum where ideas can be brought forward regarding desired areas of improvement, solutions for problems identified and strategies developed to meet identified goals. In late 2011, patient satisfaction data was shared at a Central Council meeting and all Council Chairs were asked to prioritize patient satisfaction as an agenda item at unit Council meetings. Each unit Council reviewed unit specific patient satisfaction data and developed their own initiatives to improve specific areas of concern. As improvement was noted, information was shared at Central Council meetings and best practices were identified and implemented across the organization. NSUH's Press Ganey percentile ranking for 'Overall Patient Satisfaction' increased 11 percentile points between December 2011 and August 2012. Similarly, our percentile ranking for 'Likelihood to Recommend' improved by 16 percentile points over this time period. These and other improvements are widely attributed to the Collaborative Care Council infrastructure as the CCC's were instrumental in developing, implementing and evaluating the patient satisfaction efforts.

Author Details

Launette Woolforde, DNP, RN-BC; Linda C. Olander, RN, MSN

Sigma Membership

Alpha Phi

Lead Author Affiliation

North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, New York, USA

Type

Presentation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

N/A

Research Approach

N/A

Keywords:

Collaborative Care, Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Patient Satisfaction

Conference Name

Creating Healthy Work Environments 2013

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Conference Year

2013

Rights Holder

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Review Type

Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

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Building healthy workplace environments through collaborative care councils

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Session presented on Saturday, April 13, 2013:

Effective decision making is best achieved when those who have a stake in the decision have an opportunity to have input during the decision making process. As part of the implementation of TeamStepps, and in alignment with the organizational professional practice model - Collaborative Care, North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) initiated Collaborative Care Councils (CCCs) in 2007. These Councils, which are unit based and feed into a Central Council, are designed to enhance interdisciplinary communication, foster healthy work environments, and support decision making by those closest to the work being addressed. Typical representation at Council meetings may include nurses, advanced practice providers, patient care associates, social workers, case managers, physical and respiratory therapists, pharmacists, dieticians and physicians. Through the forty six CCCs currently active at NSUH, all levels of staff have a forum where ideas can be brought forward regarding desired areas of improvement, solutions for problems identified and strategies developed to meet identified goals. In late 2011, patient satisfaction data was shared at a Central Council meeting and all Council Chairs were asked to prioritize patient satisfaction as an agenda item at unit Council meetings. Each unit Council reviewed unit specific patient satisfaction data and developed their own initiatives to improve specific areas of concern. As improvement was noted, information was shared at Central Council meetings and best practices were identified and implemented across the organization. NSUH's Press Ganey percentile ranking for 'Overall Patient Satisfaction' increased 11 percentile points between December 2011 and August 2012. Similarly, our percentile ranking for 'Likelihood to Recommend' improved by 16 percentile points over this time period. These and other improvements are widely attributed to the Collaborative Care Council infrastructure as the CCC's were instrumental in developing, implementing and evaluating the patient satisfaction efforts.