Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Call to Action 1-1-1

One measure in one area in one month: 1-1-1. That's the call-to-action plan employed by Parrish Medical Center, Titusville, Fla., and other Florida and Alabama hospitals allied with VHA Southeast. Using this process improvement methodology and sharing and implementing best practices, VHASE hospitals have made measurable improvements in patient care. Call to Action 1-1-1 first focused on heart failure discharge instructions. Nineteen participating hospitals improved their baseline score of 85 percent to 89 percent in one month. Seven hospitals achieved 100 percent compliance, and six more did when medication was factored out. Call to Action 1-1-1 also targeted reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections by reducing duration of catheter days. The 17 participating hospitals improved 10 percent from baseline, again in one month. Results have been sustained. Essential to the improvements were "extensive benchmarking and sharing," says George Edwin Loftin, Jr., RN, PMC vice president, nursing. For more information, contact Loftin at edwin.loftin@parrishmed.com.