Providing Quality Services and Assurance of Safety in Montgomery Medical Center - Research Proposal Example

? Quality Improvement Plan for G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center March 01, Quality Improvement Plan for G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center Introduction Quality health care is the prime mover of the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center’s aspirations. The institution is at work in providing only the best for its medical and non-medical staff, and its patients. The goal of this quality improvement plan is to materialize the institution’s vision, mission, and values in patient care. A general description of this plan is the improvement of the hospital’s improvement of quality in patient care specifically in the increase of mortality rates. This paper will specify the hospital’s vision-mission statements, its services and facilities available, the goal of the quality improvement plan, roles of consumers, and the quality indicators available for them. VA Medical Center Vision-Mission According to the Veterans Health Administration, the mission of any VA medical centers is to provide the best quality of medical care to the American veterans. Their vision is carried out through a patient-centered care administered by the teams, wherein the patients in the VA Montgomery are assured that “every single one gets the best care anywhere” (“V.A. Healthcare,” 2011) and for evidence-based services suitable for the patient’s medical needs. Accurate medical assessment is what the medical center targets to achieve at any time, in any patient such that they would be given appropriate care and medication. Services Offered and Facilities Available The G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center provides major medical services for its patients which include “primary, second and tertiary medical, neurological and mental health inpatient care” (U.S. Department, 2010a). Aside from the basic services any medical hospital would offer, this institution also made available services for “hemodialysis, sleep studies, substance abuse treatment, post traumatic stress disorder, hematology/oncology, and rehabilitation programs” and other inpatient and outpatient services (U.S. Department, 2010a). The VA currently has 163 active hospitals and is affiliated with medical colleges and universities. Their facilities would include “a 120-bed nursing home care unit, Community-Based Outpatient Clinics, nursing homes and four 150-bed state veterans’ nursing homes” (U.S. Department, 2010b). Goal of the Quality Improvement Plan This improvement plan shall address the challenges of this medical center in the past few years to further uplift its responsibility of providing the best medical care for the patients. Through this two-part plan, this paper aims to have quality services, assurance of safety, accurate medical delivery, knowledgeable line of staff, decrease of infection rate, increase of patient recovery, and continuous medical service for outpatients. Roles of Consumers in Quality Improvement The consumers specified in this plan do not only refer to the patients or the ones having the direct experience of hospital service, but this also looks at the importance a community-wide involvement. Families and persons with direct personal relationships with the patients particularly have roles in the fulfillment of this plan. For example, last year’s controversy about the hospital’s sanitation procedures for all its equipments was questioned by U.S. Office of Special Counsel (“Mississippi VA,” 2010) could be negated or proved by the customers through the record of their personal experiences and certain evidences on how they perceive the medical center in its sanitation. External Quality Indicators for Consumers The medical center has provided several quality indicators available to consumers so that they would be able to have a personal assessment on the kind of service quality they are receiving while in the hospital vicinity or the quality of medical attention, in the cases of outpatients. Consumers can contact VHA via anonymous hotline, email, or direct contact with certain officers to which they can address their problems in case of health care flaws. However, if prior assessment should concern the consumer, he or she can look for specific checklist to determine if the medical institution is giving them the service that they need in the most reliable way. Quality Indicators The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has offered a set of quality indicators in their Guide to Inpatient Quality indicators. They divided the indicators according to a bigger umbrella which would comprise other specific indicators. To name three specific indicators of the sets of broader indicators are: acute stroke mortality rate, congestive heart failure mortality rate, and hip fracture mortality rate. As seen, mortality rates are emphasized in this line of indicators since the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center is a hospital for veterans, where mortality is a great factor to consider. The acute stroke treatment is vital especially in dealing with the elderly. The medication should be “timely and efficient to prevent potentially fatal brain tissue death” (AHRQ, 2002, p. 52). Consumers should be aware of the treatments required by the physicians and if it is properly implemented on the patient or does it follow the required time in which the medication is applied. This is just the same as following the congestive heart failure mortality rate, a problem concerning most of the older citizens. This indicator has much to do with outpatient services since the illness is known to be chronic; this is still apparent even if the patient has already checked out of the medical center. Next, hip fracture is “common cause of morbidity and functional decline among elderly persons” (AHRQ, 2002, p. 56). This is the most frequent fracture an elderly person would encounter, but it is still preventable in many ways. Consumers Use of Quality Indicators and Stakeholder Feedback in QI The use of mortality of three areas as quality indicators would provide the consumers a checklist of the ideal service they are to receive. If the hospital would successfully meet all the standards specified by the indicators, then the trust among the consumers will be granted. The roles of the consumers as the heart of the medical center’s goals would help the institution conceptualize ideas for their convenience and needs. The institution also utilizes the information taken from the stakeholders as basis for possible changes in the future. Conclusion Therefore, the VA Medical Center in Mississippi is passionate about giving their patients the best quality of care. They are committed in increasing the number of patient recovery, as seen in their plan and emphasis in quality indicator. Furthermore, the institution does not set aside the roles of the consumers not directly receiving the medical services. Instead, they encourage participation of the communities outside the medical arena to develop more their services. References Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2002). Guide to inpatient quality indicators: Quality of care in hospitals--volume mortality and utilization. Retrieved from http://www.qualityindicators.ahrq.gov/ downloads/iqi/iqi_guide_v31.pdf Mississippi VA Medical Center fails to properly disinfect surgical instruments. (2010). Infection Control Today. Retrieved from http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/ news/2010/10/mississippi-va-medical-center-fails-to-properly -disinfect-surgical-instruments.aspx U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2010a). G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center. Retrieved from http://www2.va.gov/directory/guide/facility.asp?id=64 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2010b). G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center: About this facility. Retrieved from http://www.jackson.va.gov/about/ VA healthcare: Defining excellence in the 21st century. (2011). Veterans Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.usmedicine.com/ outlook/USM_2011_Outlook_VA.pdf Read More