 Boone County Hospital’s (BCH) participation in the 100,000 Lives Campaign contributed to the estimated 122,300 lives saved in this national initiative. The 18-month campaign, which ended on June 14, 2006, was initiated by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in December 2004 and challenged U.S. hospitals to save 100,000 lives through the implementation of six proven healthcare interventions. More than 3,000 hospitals, including BCH, joined the campaign, representing 75 percent of U.S. hospital beds.
Hospitals participating in the campaign agreed to implement one or more of the six evidence-based interventions. As part of the 100,000 Lives Campaign and to continue in providing quality patient care, Boone County Hospital implemented the following:
- Deploying Rapid Response Teams—Boone County Hospital initiated a Medical Emergency Team (also known as MET) in February 2006. The MET consists of clinical personnel with critical skills trained to evaluate, determine and potentially manage a patient at the first sign that a patient’s health is declining. Team members assist staff in assessing and stabilizing the patient’s condition and organizing information to be communicated to the patient’s physician. Since the end of July, 2006, MET had been activated 12 times. SBAR, a tool for better communication among healthcare workers, was also implemented and is being used for the MET and all other communication with physicians regarding patients at high risk. SBAR allows the caregiver to communicate the situation, background and assessment to the doctor and then in return, the doctor can give a recommendation. Since the implementation of SBAR, communication among staff has improved.
- Preventing Adverse Drug Reactions—Medication reconciliation is a procedure that ensures that patients receive all intended medications on admission to the hospital, transfer within the hospital and discharge from the hospital. A team at Boone County Hospital is working on processes that will verify a patient's medication on admission, transfer and discharge. In conjunction, the hospital is encouraging all residents to utilize the File of Life, a card that allows individuals to record medications, allergies, medical conditions, etc. The cards are available at all Boone pharmacies, physician clinics, and in the Emergency Department and other patient care areas within the hospital.
- Reducing Acute Myocardial Infarction Mortality—There are seven standards of practice that are being monitored on a national basis. Boone County Hospital has been participating on gathering data for compliance on these standards; the results show BCH is above the state and national average. The hospital Emergency Department also participated in a Level 1 Heart Attack Protocol. This protocol is a coordinated approach to safely transporting a heart attack patient to another healthcare facility. For instance, if a patient goes to the Emergency Department at BCH, the staff assesses the patient, does all of the appropriate testing, gives medications as needed, and checks the patient’s medical history. All of that information is then faxed to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines while the patient is in route to that hospital. Once at Mercy, none of that work needs to be repeated and the Cath Lab is ready for the patient. This program helps save heart muscle and has been in place since 2004.
- Preventing Surgical Site Infections—Boone County Hospital has implemented three preventative measures to reduce surgical site infections which include the use of prophylactic antibiotics, appropriate hair removal and perioperative glucose control. This initiative is continually being monitored. Patients are given prophylactic antibiotics within 60 minutes before, during or after surgery.
“I am very pleased with Boone County Hospital’s role in the 100,000 Lives Program and our efforts to continually provide quality patient care,” says Joe Smith, Boone County Hospital CEO. “All of these initiatives are important in providing top-notch patient care. This is just one more way Boone County Hospital is providing quality healthcare and bettering our community’s health.”
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