The Maryland Patient Safety Center has awarded Northwest Hospital its top honor, the prestigious 2017 Minogue Award for Patient Safety Innovation.
“At Northwest Hospital, we believe that everyone plays a role in patient safety and quality, and this award recognizes how, by working together with a hospital-wide focus, we can create real benefits for our patients. To achieve these results, we have created an organizational culture that promotes innovation and engages staff at all levels. We are united in our shared goal to provide our patients with the highest-quality care,” says Brian M. White, president of Northwest Hospital and senior vice president of LifeBridge Health.
He adds, “We are thrilled to be recognized by the Maryland Patient Safety Center because it shows that you don’t need to be the biggest to be the best. Through innovation and shared commitment to keep the patient at the center of every decision we make (a model of patient-centered care), we want to set the standard for quality patient care.”
The Maryland Patient Safety Center received 70 award applications from hospitals around the state. An independent panel of judges, made up of health care professionals, evaluated the applications through a blinded process (with the names of the hospitals removed) so entries were judged solely on the merits of the patient safety innovation.
“The Minogue Award recognizes an organization within the state that has made a demonstrable difference in patient safety through innovation. We congratulate Northwest Hospital for developing an inventive and inclusive process to improve the care of patients,” says Robert Imhoff, president and CEO of the Maryland Patient Safety Center.
The Northwest Hospital program is based on a model called an accountable care unit (ACU) that emphasizes collaboration to improve safety results. An interdisciplinary group of Northwest leadership and frontline team members worked together to use the ACU model as a tool to design an innovative blueprint at the hospital that focuses on patient and family-centered care, outcomes and employee engagement.
“Our journey has created a new culture of shared accountability surrounding patient safety and quality outcomes and has been a learning experience for everyone involved. We have learned how to better listen to each other and engage each other so we can care for our patients and their families in the best ways possible,” says Dr. Susan Mani, chief quality officer and chair of the Department of Medicine at Northwest Hospital.
This project was piloted on one unit at the Northwest, tweaked and changed, and then rolled out to the entire hospital during an 18-month period. Based on the success of this model, the Maryland Patient Safety Center has asked Northwest Hospital to present the plan and outcomes at its annual conference in March so that other hospitals systems can learn from Northwest’s success.
“At Northwest Hospital, we are on a quest to be leaders in patient safety and quality. The dedication of our employees has always been unparalleled, and, as the Minogue Award illustrates, they are truly the reason for all our successes,” says White.
Along with the Minogue Award for Patient Safety Innovation, the Maryland Patient Safety Center also awarded Northwest Hospital and Sinai Hospital, both part of LifeBridge Health, with seven additional recognitions. LifeBridge Health facilities earned eight of the top 20 awards.
