Quality Improvement Storyboard

Quality Improvement Storyboard

High-quality care and positive outcomes are something we all strive as healthcare employees for our organizations to deliver.  Healthcare consumers have expectations when it comes to the quality of care in a healthcare setting and it is up to us as the providers to ensure that we meet those expectations.  According to Patricia Spath (2013), the Institute of Medicine defines quality as the delivery of healthcare services to an individual that increases the likelihood of desired health outcomes that are consistent with current professional knowledge and evidence-based practices (Spath, 2013). The mission of quality is to provide care to the right patient at the right time, every time.  Spath also mentions that we must understand the patient’s expectations and provide a reliable service that meets those expectations in a cost-effective and accessible manner (Spath, 2013).  We as healthcare providers must ensure that the services we provide utilize the necessary resources at the lowest cost possible for both the organization and the patient.

 

Major quality theorist, Kaoru Ishikawa, implemented the concept of quality circles, which are small performance improvement teams that include front-line staff members (Spath, 2013).  In order to deliver high-quality care an organization must include the front-line staff when looking for opportunities for improvement; most of the time it is these employees that work in the trenches of the situations and have the ideas for improvement.  The challenge is leadership putting the input of the small performance improvement teams into practice.  Quality circles are extremely helpful in managing the quality of healthcare that promotes positive outcomes and meets the patient’s expectations of care.  As nurses, we have the opportunity to deliver high-quality care to our patients and share best practices with both our patients and our fellow nurses.  It is extremely important that we empower our patients and support our patient’s rights to improve the quality of care he or she receives.

 

One practice problem that we have encountered at my current organization is the overall cleanliness of our facility.  Last year, we transitioned into utilizing a contracted housekeeping service instead of our own organization employees for environmental services.  We have noticed over the last year that the service and perception of our patients have dropped a great deal.  Patients and families expect a hospital to be clean and employees expect a clean working environment, and we are struggling on a daily basis to meet those expectations.  Our overall patient satisfaction scores have dropped, we even were cited on our recent Joint Commission survey for cleanliness, and we have constant employee complaints regarding the housekeeping service.  Even though it was said that this contracted service would save the organization money, we have noticed that this particular change in service was a wasteful practice.   The contract company provides the bare minimum of staff and makes it difficult for the staff to be able to do the job well.  Prior to the change, we had dedicated housekeeping staff for specialized units and the Emergency department that were stationed in those areas at all times.  This allowed the staff to be trained appropriately on specialized equipment and necessary cleaning protocols for those specialized areas.  We currently have a quality circle that is working together to determine other process improvement opportunities that will help improve the desired outcomes.  Cleanliness of an organization is a consumer’s first impression and impacts the perception of the quality of care the organization provides.

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