to download a PDF of the - Catholic Health System

May 20122Catholic Health Joins in New York’sPartnership for PatientsIn 2011, the Federal Governmentlaunched the Partnership for Patients:Better Care, Lower Costs, a newpublic-private partnership designedto help improve the quality, safety,and affordability of health care. ThePartnership for Patients brings togetherleaders of major hospitals,employers, physicians, nurses, and patientadvocates along with state andfederal governments in a shared effortto make hospital care safer, more reliable,and less costly.The two goals of this new partnershipare to:• Keep patients from gettinginjured or sicker. By the endof 2013, preventable hospitalacquiredconditions woulddecrease by 40% compared to2010. Achieving this goal wouldmean approximately 1.8 millionfewer injuries to patients withmore than 60,000 lives savedover three years.• Help patients heal without complication.By the end of 2013,preventable complications duringa transition from one care settingto another would be decreasedso that all hospital readmissionswould be reduced by 20% comparedto 2010. Achieving thisgoal would mean more than 1.6million patients would recoverfrom illness without suffering apreventable complication requiringre-hospitalization within 30days of discharge.As part of this national effort,Catholic Health has joined NewYork State Partnership for Patients(NYSPFP), a statewide initiative involvingmore than 170 hospitals inactivities aimed at reducing hospitalcomplications and preventable readmissions.“New York State Partnershipfor Patients is another tool to measureas well as bolster our quality improvementand patient safety efforts,” saidJoe McDonald, president & CEO ofCatholic Health. “We already havevery active Quality and Patient SafetyDepartments in each of our ministriesthat will support the work we are doingwith our state partners.”NYSPFP is a joint project of theHealthcare Association of New YorkState and the Greater New YorkHospital Association. The partnershipwill provide participating hospitalswith technical assistance, trainingopportunities and educational programmingto build on existing qualityimprovement programs.“These initiatives include measureswe are already focusing on in our hospitalsto enhance safety and improveclinical outcomes for our patients,”said John Kane, vice president ofQuality and Patient Safety for CatholicHealth. “The central message here isthat improving quality and safety is ateam effort that will involve hospitalstaff at all levels, including clinical, administrativeand support personnel.”To kick-off its participation, CatholicHealth asked all hospital staff and physicianleaders to participate in a comprehensivesurvey on patient safetyculture. The results of the survey willhelp raise awareness about patientsafety among hospital staff, identifyareas of strength and opportunities forimprovement, and evaluate the successof initiative designed to improvecare, enhance safety, and reduce preventablereadmissions.