Houston Methodist focuses on patient-safety measures
Since the release of the Institute of Medicine’s 1999 report, To Err is Human, a document that reemphasized the message of patient safety, hospitals and health services have focused on building a safer health care system for patients.
As a system, Houston Methodist is focused on harm prevention and improving the quality, effectiveness and safety of patient care.
Readmission prevention
“There is an additional focus to assist and support patients once they are discharged from the hospital, ensuring the right care for the right patient at the right time. We seek to ensure the effectiveness of our care through readmission prevention,” said Janet Leatherwood, vice president and chief nursing officer at Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital a part of the Houston Methodist Hospital System that has earned worldwide recognition for patient care.
Leatherwood said Houston Methodist’s nursing care is focused on preventing adverse events, such as central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, pressure injuries, development of delirium, early sepsis treatment, patient fall and hospital onset Clostridium Difficle infection.
Recent addition
Houston Methodist also recently adopted the Hester Davis program, which focuses on predicting and preventing patients’ potential falls.
“We use tools that identify patient frailty and then implement specific interventions, such as the use of gait belts and fall mats, to keep our patients safe from falls and injuries,” Leatherwood said.
With the extensive use of antibiotics administration and antibiotic resistance in the United States, hospitals now care for patients from the communities who have developed severe diarrhea known as Clostridium Difficile. This infection is the most common health care acquired infection in the United States and has a vast negative impact on patient safety and patient outcomes.
According to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, hospitals are now required to address this concern by initiating hospital-wide infection and prevention antibiotic stewardship programs for the surveillance prevention, and control of health careassociated infection and for the appropriate use of antibiotics.
“The antibiotic stewardship programs are focused on how to educate and address the frequent use of antibiotics and review with their physicians the up-to-date antibiogram, which reflects the local assessment of how microorganisms are responding to antimicrobial drugs in their communities,” Leatherwood said. “Hospital onset, or HOCDI, is increasing in prevalence, and has vast negative impact on patient safety and outcomes. To prevent HOCDI, we adopted a multi-prolonged, interprofessional approach that has drastically reduced HOCDI at Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital.
“All of these initiatives are geared at providing a safe environment for patients at risk with the avoidance of harm. Nurses are critical in participating in these initiatives and critical to patient safety.”
“We use tools that identify patient frailty and then implement specific interventions, such as the use of gait belts and fall mats, to keep our patients safe from falls and injuries.” Janet Leatherwood, vice president and chief nursing officer Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital