The Tennessee Hospital Association is Making Falls with Injury a Top Priority with help from Cynosure Health
Even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the TN State Hospital Association (THA) has ranked falls with injury as a top patient safety priority for 2020, highlighting this issue as a continuing concern and as a significant opportunity for improving patient outcomes.
THA has engaged Cynosure’s Falls subject matter expert, Jackie Conrad, to lead a group of hospitals in a six month, virtual improvement journey that will conclude in January 2021. Building on past success, the THA team is following a Cynosure Collaborative model that achieved a 36% reduction in falls with injury over a 6 month period with a group of 20 hospitals in Indiana.
57 interested hospitals learned what to expect and the structure of the collaborative on a kick-off, informational webinar on June 30.
As a part of the 'what to expect' discussion, Cynosure always includes 'What’s In It For Me' (WIIFM) as a critical aspect of ensuring engagement. For this Falls collaborative, the WIIFM includes:
- Fresh ideas from the field
- Change ideas based upon your local data
- Team approach = fun, less burden
- Learn not just the what, but the how
- Shed practices that do not add value. Conrad stressed the importance of the collaborative adding value for the participants by using local hospital data and a team approach to test new ideas to keep patients safe from falls and immobility.
Cynosure's experience demonstrates that active participation and testing on a small scale provides the most value and improvement. The Falls collaborative structure includes:
- Team Based, Active Learning
- Use of a Discovery Tool to uncover internal opportunities
- Peer to Peer Sharing
- Hospital Team Coaching Calls to discuss testing new change ideas
- Webinars blending content on the art of change management and the science and evidence around reducing harm from falls and immobility.
The response to the informational webinar was very positive. Hospitals stated that what appeals to them about the collaborative is the exposure to fresh ideas from the field, the use of the discovery tool and the team approach.
We are looking forward to seeing success unfold in the participating Tennessee hospitals.
