Annual Program Report 2004 - American International Health Alliance

Hospital Nursing Quality Improvement
A three-year pilot program for nurses to improve
the quality of hospital care culminated in 2004
with the prestigious “Journey to Excellence” award
by the American Nurses Credentialing Center
(ANCC) given to four hospitals that had participated
in now-graduated partnerships, two in Russia
and two in Armenia. The USAID-supported program
introduced evidence-based standards of professional
nursing based on ANCC’s accreditation
program for nursing care excellence, which recognizes
excellence in hospitals in its “Magnet”
Program. Each hospital was assisted by US experts
in nursing standards and a partnership with a US
hospital that had achieved ANCC Magnet status.
Teams of nurses and physicians were formed to
implement standards, which led to substantial
improvements in quality of care and patient satisfaction.
These hospitals now serve as national
models of excellence in healthcare quality.
Women’s Wellness Centers
AIHA produced a report on an assessment conducted
in late-2003 of the network of Women’s
Wellness Centers established by AIHA between
1997 and 2003. These Women’s Wellness Centers
(WWCs) represent model comprehensive outpatient
centers serving women of all ages. The selfassessment
questionnaires, completed by 29 of the
32 established WWCs, revealed that more than 90
percent are continuing to provide services within
the five core service categories of the WWC
model – prenatal and perinatal care, family planning,
sexually-transmitted diseases, cancer screening
and diagnosis, and services to elderly women.
The Centers also reported improved implementation
of clinical guidelines and protocols
as a result of training and information
resources made available through the program,
as well as improved physical facilities and availability
of equipment, leading to better patient
care and outcomes.
tailored to the region. Based on the US Department
of Transportation’s national standard curriculum,
the workshop was held in Tbilisi in April and used
trainers affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
Each center received hard copies and CD-ROMs of
the instructor and student manuals. The centers,
while no longer receiving direct AIHA support,
have continued to flourish. Since the centers were
established beginning in 1994, they have trained
more than 50,000 healthcare professionals and first
responders in topics from first aid to medical
emergencies and disaster management.
Georgian Hospital Improvement
On June 1, an emergency pediatric center was
opened at the Iashvili Children’s Central Hospital
(CCH) in Tbilisi. An emergency specialist from
Atlanta assisted in the start-up under the USAIDfunded
Tbilisi/Atlanta partnership. More than
7,000 critically injured children received state-ofthe-art
emergency care at the center since its opening.
The partnership is also creating a professional
nursing model and improving hospital management
at CCH and Gudushauri Hospital (National
Medical Center-NMC). In-service nurses’ training
courses in pain management, infection control,
surgical peri-operative techniques, intubation
techniques, and treatment of acute and chronic
ostheomielitis were held at the hospitals. The
finances and administration of CCH and NMC
were reviewed, training was provided on budgeting
and monitoring, and recommendations are
being implemented to improve fiscal management
and performance indicators.
Emergency Medical Response
Trainers from AIHA’s network of 14
Emergency Medical Services Training Centers
located in nine countries received a week-long
skills-based training on a new curriculum for
non-medical personnel (first responders)
Healthcare professionals, police, firefighters and other first responders learn
critical life-saving skills at AIHA’s network of EMS Training Centers.
Photo: AIHA archives
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