BGH wins 2017 Qualis Award of Excellence
The Pend Oreille Hospital District 2022 budget was found to be lawful by state tax officials despite a written complaint earlier this month by a district trustee.
Qualis Health, one of the nation’s leading population health management organizations, recognized Bonner General Health for their achievements in improving healthcare quality and outcomes.
Bonner General Health received the award during a ceremony at the Idaho Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Conference on May 4 in Boise. Kelly McGrath, MD, MS, Qualis Health Idaho medical director, presented the awards.
“Our changing healthcare landscape requires increasingly vigorous efforts to improve healthcare delivery and health outcomes in Idaho and across the nation. The Qualis Health Idaho Quality Awards celebrate organizations that have transformed healthcare delivery for their communities — making a real difference for their patients and their families,” said Jonathan Sugarman, MD, MPH, President and CEO of Qualis Health. “Their achievements exemplify progress towards critical aims for healthcare: better quality of care at a lower cost.”
Bonner General Health received the, “Award of Excellence: Critical Access Hospital”, for their project “Code Stork”. “Bonner General Health is one of two facilities in the Northern Idaho region that provides obstetrical and delivery services. Many pregnant women in the area either receive no prenatal care, choose to deliver at home, or receive care from a lay midwife. When emergencies occur, the outcome can be devastating,” said Tracy Autler, Bonner General Health director of quality and risk management compliance officer.
Recognizing the critical value of time in these situations, BGH identified a need to decrease the response time during an obstetrical emergency to achieve the best outcome for mother and baby. They developed a “Code Stork” process that allows for a fast response time for an urgent cesarean section in an emergency. Development of the “Code Stork” allowed BGH staff to standardize their process to ensure fast response time after the decision to operate is made to the initial incision and start of the surgery. The national recommended time for decision to incision for caesarean sections is 30 minutes. After implementation of the “Code Stork” process, BGH reduced their time from 31 minutes to 7.
“This achievement reflects the commitment the staff at BGH has for providing quality care, and is only possible due to the level of team work between all departments”, said Joann Filce, Family-Centered Maternity Unit Nurse Manager.
April Bennett, BGH unit nurse manager, Surgical Services Department added, “I am so proud of the hard work from our dedicated staff at Bonner General Health. Through the collaboration and teamwork between multiple departments, we have worked hard to put this policy into place. It has taken a lot of training and dedication and it is so encouraging to see this hard work pay off.”
Information: BonnerGeneral.org