Catholic Health Services awarded for patient care
Alyson Gucciardo of Selden believes St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson saved her baby's life.
Gucciardo went to the hospital seven months pregnant and feeling ill. Doctors and nurses took her concerns seriously, she said, and she was quickly monitored and tested. She had contracted the bacteria listeria, which can lead to the fetus' death if not dealt with quickly. Within hours she had, via cesarean section, her daughter, Taylor, now a healthy 51/2 months old.
"They made a very unpleasant experience as good as it could be," she said.
Listening and communicating with the patient and with each other is not just a priority at St. Charles. It's been a part of a program started by Catholic Health Services of Long Island about five years ago at its four hospitals where babies are delivered, said Joe Conte, executive vice president for corporate services.
As a result of the initiative, which has reduced bad outcomes in obstetrics and gynecology, the Healthcare Association of New York State on Wednesday awarded the health system the Pinnacle Award for Quality and Patient Safety. The health system topped more than 130 nominees from hospitals and health systems statewide.
Conte said the program began when the system noticed a cluster of obstetric cases that indicated possible systemwide issues. CHS sent doctors and nurses to Harvard for team training. Based on the aviation industry's effort to reduce plane crashes, the training focuses on teamwork and communication between nurses and doctors - and with patients - at every step of treatment.
If a nurse raises a concern that is not addressed, the nurse must raise it again to ensure it is resolved, said Anne Shea-Lewis, director of maternal-child health at St. Charles. If it remains unresolved, the nurse must go up the chain of command.
Conte said statistics show the program, used in emergency departments and being rolled out in operating rooms in CHS' six hospitals, has had an impact: Unplanned admissions to the neonatal intensive care unit, markers of an adverse event, went from 27 per quarter in 2005 to nine per quarter in 2006-08, he said.
The result has also been a happier staff. "It has made for a calmer, more cohesive unit," Shea-Lewis said.
'Success is zero deaths on the roadway' Newsday reporters spent this year examining the risks on Long Island's roads, where traffic crashes over a decade killed more than 2,100 people and seriously injured more than 16,000. This documentary is a result of that newsroom-wide effort.
'Success is zero deaths on the roadway' Newsday reporters spent this year examining the risks on Long Island's roads, where traffic crashes over a decade killed more than 2,100 people and seriously injured more than 16,000. This documentary is a result of that newsroom-wide effort.
