Samaritan Healthcare improves patient care

Chrystal Doucette/Columbia Basin HeraldSamaritan Healthcare Quality Improvement and Risk Management Director Gwen Cox holds a poster used in a campaign for Samaritan employees.

by Chrystal Doucette<br>Herald Staff Writer
| July 31, 2008 9:00 PM

Pneumonia vaccinations increase

MOSES LAKE - Samaritan Healthcare has seen a dramatic change for the better in patient care.

Through an increase in education and better recording of its actions, the hospital is improving its statistics tracked through the federal government.

The government tracks whether hospitals take specific actions during patient care.

For Samaritan, the number of patients receiving pneumonia vaccinations is one particular area of improvement. In 2004, only 3 percent of Samaritan patients eligible to receive a pneumonia vaccine received the vaccination, said Quality Improvement and Risk Management Director Gwen Cox.

During 2007, 94 percent to 100 percent of eligible patients received the vaccine, she said.

A chart shows a steady rise in numbers beginning around the time Cox joined the hospital, in 2006. In years past, the numbers rose and dipped.

Utilization Review Nurse Richard Donaldson said numbers in the past were from repeated attempts to implement changes.

"Now it's more hardwired, so the system becomes more reliable," Donaldson said.

Improving rates of pneumonia vaccination is just one area the hospital is focusing on. Among other measures of quality, the hospital is working to provide smoking cessation information to patients and to improve surgical care.

"What we've done is we've focused a lot of attention on these measures because these are considered standards of care," Cox said.

The hospital provided antibiotics within an hour of surgery to 88 percent of patients in 2007, a number that is above state and national averages.

Cox said she expects the number to rise to 93 percent to 94 percent this year. The top 10 hospitals in the nation averaged 97 percent, she said.

Making sure patients at risk of clots receive proper care is another measure of quality, Cox said.

The hospital took proper measures to prevent blood clots in 91 percent of patients where the action was appropriate, according to data updated March 21. The national and state averages are 79 percent.

"We still have some room for improvement," Cox said. "We're not perfect, but we're certainly much, much better than we were two years ago."

The hospital found it lacked sufficient education and is now spending time educating staff and patients, Cox said.

Hospital administration ran campaigns, provided educational skits for staff, and attended staff meetings, she said.

Cox attributed improvements to hospital staff, noting she cannot force them to improve.

"What I can do is motivate people and encourage people and teach them how to do it the right way, but it's their desire to provide quality care that has really driven the numbers up," Cox said.

She said some of the increases may be due to better recording. Doctors were taking the actions before, but not always writing them down, she said.

Quality Review Specialist Brenda Adame said if she notices a measure missing in a patient's care, she will mark it on a list and place it on top of the patient's chart. The physician and nurse will see it, she said.

Cox said electronic medical records also assist by prompting staff who are entering information.