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It’s three diamonds
down, only two to go for Long
Island Jewish Medical Center’s
Satellite Dialysis Facility in
Queens Village, led by John D.
Wagner, MD, medical director.
Yolanda A. Malone, RN,
nurse manager, was recently
informed by the New York
State ESRD (End Stage Renal
Disease) Network that the
facility had taken the measures
necessary to achieve the third
diamond in the 5-Diamond
Patient Safety Program and will
be recognized in the network
newsletter. Sponsored by
the CMS-contracted Quality
Improvement Organization,
a subsidiary of IPRO, the
program is dedicated to assisting
dialysis facilities in improving
both staff and patient awareness
of specific patient safety areas,
promoting patient safety values
and building a culture of patient
safety in every dialysis facility.
“The first module
we completed was Patient
LIJ Dialysis Facility Achieves
Third Diamond in ESRD Program
Safety Principles,” said Ms.
Malone. “This mandatory
module, representing the
first diamond, teaches basic
concepts of patient safety
and the appropriate steps to
prevent errors. The second
module was Medication
Reconciliation; it stresses
the importance to both
patients and staff of avoiding
medication errors. Third
was Hand Hygiene. Next is
Slips, Trips and Falls, and the
module we will tackle last will
be Emergency Preparation.”
Following in the footsteps
of the Queens Village facility
is the pediatric chronic
dialysis unit, located within
the inpatient unit at LIJ,
where Ms. Malone is also
nurse manager; they hope
soon to achieve their first
diamond. Joanne Seylar, RN,
Marlyn Batan, RN, and the
entire nursing leadership join
together in commending the
staffs of both facilities for
their enthusiastic participation
in the program, undergoing
training and bringing the
lessons learned down to the
patient level.
“We have a great team,”
said Ms. Malone. “Everyone
pitched in and helped, from
leadership, especially Dr.
Wagner, our educator, Nicole
Lemoine, RN, on down. With
that level of multidisciplinary
collaboration, by the end of
2012, we expect that both units
will be 5-Diamond facilities.”
“The 5-Diamond
program formally measures
and acknowledges our facility’s
efforts in the areas cited, but
our performance improvement
program has always focused on
these areas,” said Dr. Wagner.
“Participating in the program
confirms that we are on the
right track, and it also applauds
our achievements. I could
not be prouder of the highly
talented team of nurses, patient
care technicians, dietitians,
social workers and support
staff who took the initiative to
engage in this program.”
Above: Shown in the pediatric
chronic dialysis unit with a young
patient are Yolanda Malone, RN,
left, and Vera Benn, RN.
The New Standard 85