Tulare Regional Medical Center Receives Statewide Recognition
TULARE – California Hospital Engagement Network (CalHEN) has announced that Tulare Regional Medical Center achieved project goals well ahead of schedule.
174 hospitals statewide have united in a federal initiative known as the Hospital Engagement Network. As part of the Partnership for Patients program, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has established 26 state, regional and hospital system organizations in an effort to reduce inpatient harm by 40 percent and hospital readmissions by 20 percent by the end of 2013. California Hospital Engagement Network (CalHEN) focuses on 10 clinical areas for improvement, building upon and accelerating the patient safety and quality improvement work previously underway in California’s hospitals.
CalHEN identified Tulare Regional Medical Center as an “Improvement Champion” for achievement in the following areas;
• Achieved 40% improvement in three hospital acquired conditions:
• Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections
• Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infections
• Ventilator Associated Pneumonia
• Also, achieved 20% improvement in elective readmissions.
The national goals were accomplished by Tulare Regional Medical Center six months prior to year’s end.
“Although there are six months remaining in the project, we could not wait to acknowledge the hard work, dedication, commitment and leadership, staff has demonstrated to improve patient safety in your hospital,” said Michele Davenport Lambert, director, California Hospital Engagement Network in her letter dated July 24, 2013 to Shawn Bolouki, chief executive officer, Tulare Regional Medical Center.
In March, 2013 Julie Christianson, RN, director of Homecare Services, presented Tulare Regional Medical Center’s success in reducing hospital readmissions during the National Health Engagement Network Conference in Chicago, Illinois. Tulare Regional Medical Center’s vein thrombosis prevention program was featured in April 2013 during the California Hospital Patient Safety Organization Annual Conference in Sacramento. TRMC has not had a hospital acquired deep vein thrombosis patient since Oct. 2011.
“The CalHEN recognition is an example of how Tulare Regional Medical Center strives to improve clinical outcomes each day,” Bolouki said. “Our commitment to quality is unwavering.”
