Newsletter

Quality and Patient Safety Newsletter for Virginia Hospitals and Health Systems

April 2023

What’s in this Newsletter:

  • Member Spotlight-Virginians Speak Up for Safety
  • Annual Virginia Patient Safety Summit
  • VHHA Sponsors IHI Open School
  • Upcoming Events

Speak Up for Safety!

“Virginians Speak Up for Safety” Award Program Q4 2022

The VHHA Center for Healthcare Excellence is honored to recognize Virginia hospital employees who speak up for safety! The statewide “Virginians Speak Up for Safety” award recognizes hospital staff and physicians in Virginia who identify potential harm events in their work environments and speak up when it is easy to say nothing and may be difficult to say something. For the most recent quarter, we received many great nominations representing tremendous efforts on behalf of patient and staff safety. Many thanks to the hospital systems that foster organizational cultures which enable staff to feel safe speaking up for safety. Forth quarter 2022 nominations were submitted by Ballad Health, Bon Secours Mercy Health, Carilion Clinic, Centra Health, Inova Health System, LifePoint Health, Sentara Healthcare, UVA Health, VHC Health, Valley Health, and VCU Health.

4th Quarter 2022 Award Recipients

Deborah Grant, Behavioral Health Tech

Bon Secours Richmond Community Hospital
Nominated by Susan McCarthy

Catherine Denton, RN
UVA Health
Nominated by Bizz Glover

Twelfth Annual Virginia Patient Safety Summit – A Success!

VHHA and the VHHA Center for Healthcare Excellence hosted the 2023 Virginia Patient Safety Summit as a virtual event on February 23, 2023 that attracted a record number of registrants (nearly 1400 registrants) to focus on programming on the theme of “Virginia Healthcare: Moving Forward Together.” While the past three years have been challenging, the COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for health care innovation and recalibration. The 2023 Summit presented an opportunity for the Virginia hospital and health care community to engage in meaningful conversation, collaboration, and shared learning focused on moving forward together while continuing to provide safe, high-quality patient care and fostering joy among the health care workforce. The Summit featured keynote remarks from leading national clinical leaders including Dr. Tejal Gandhi , Chief Safety and Transformation Officer with Press Ganey Associates, and Dr. Peter Pronovost, Chief Quality and Clinical Transformation Officer with University Hospitals in Cleveland. Corey Feist, President and Co-Founder of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, will also participate and provide an update on the work being done in Virginia and across the country to provide resilient healthcare workplaces that promote joy in practice and work and that support a culture of safety. The Summit program was supported by Virginia hospitals and health systems, members of the Virginia Patient Safety Summit partner organizations (the Medical Society of Virginia, the Virginia Nurses Association, and the Virginia Pharmacists Association ) and several healthcare vendors. Read more about the Summit here.
We want to also thank our Patient Safety Summit sponsors who help make this event a success and free registration for Virginia members. They were:

·    Gold Sponsors (Adams Strategy Group, Bon Secours Mercy Health, Carilion Clinic, Chesapeake Regional Healthcare, Evolv Technology, Mary Washington Healthcare, Qualivis, Sentara Healthcare, SteraMist by TOMI, US Acute Care Solutions, and UVA Health;

·    Silver Sponsors (Centra Health, Kinometrix);

·    Bronze Sponsors (Ballad Health, Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, Children’s National Health System, HCA Virginia, Inova Health System, The Language Group, and Valley Health System).

VHHA Center for Healthcare Excellence Will Sponsor a Third Year of the IHI Open School for the Basic Quality & Patient Safety Certificate

We are happy to announce our plans to launch a third year of the IHI Open School Courses for the Basic Certificate in Quality & Patient Safety. Our first two years have been extremely well received with over 70 of our 100 enrollees each year completing the self-paced online course work for their certificate and be recognized at the annual Patient Safety Summit. Enrollment for the third year will begin in May 2023 with a Kick-Off Informational webinar on May 17, 2023 at 12N. Register HERE. 

Other Upcoming Events

Webinar #1:  Insights and Updates from the Virginia Department of Health Office of Licensure and Certification – Thursday, May 4, 2023, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Description:  During this webinar representatives from the VDH will review insights gained from their inspection and survey activity in Virginia hospitals and health systems.  They will also discuss recent improvement initiatives they have undertaken to make the licensing and survey process more efficient for healthcare facilities. 
This webinar is free and open to all staff at VHHA member hospitals and health systems. 
Click here to register

Webinar #2:  Learnings From Statewide Cardiac Readmissions Reduction Initiative – Wednesday, May 10, 2023 – 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
Description:  This webinar will feature presentations from VCSQI and VHHA representatives as well as presentations from hospitals across Virginia who will describe operational strategies that have contributed to improved readmission rates. It will also highlight new improvement opportunities.
Click here to register

Thank you, Virginia hospitals!

VHHA’s Center for Healthcare Excellence Team works hard to keep you up to date with the latest statewide health care quality and safety initatives!

  • Abraham Segres, MHA, Vice President, Quality and Patient Safety, asegres@vhha.com 
  • Kristie Burnette, MSN, RN, CPHQ, CPPS, Director, Patient Safety and Quality, kburnette@vhha.com
  • Joyce Dayvault, RN, BBA, CPHQ, Director, Process Improvement, jdayvault@vhha.com

Please don’t hesitate to contact members of the team, and send us any feedback or suggestions for topics to cover in future newsletters. Thank you!