Excellent teamwork earns national recognition and top awards for Clara Maass Medical Center's safety measures.
Being first in safety isn’t easily achieved. For everyone at Clara Maass Medical Center (CMMC), it is a concerted, 24/7 effort.
The commitment by the entire health care team is why CMMC recently received its 12th A in The Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Safety Grades. The Leapfrog Group, an independent, national nonprofit, assigns hospitals across the country grades A through F, based on their performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infection and other harm to patients in their care.
“Our success in earning 12 A’s is a testament to the outstanding efforts of our physicians, employees and volunteers to position the quality and safety of our patients as our most important priority,” says Mary Ellen Clyne, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of CMMC. “We’re committed to becoming a High Reliability Organization. We are dedicated to ensuring consistent excellence in quality and safety across all our services.”
Details matter
To achieve excellence in safety, CMMC employs communication strategies and monitors safety metrics—not only those measured by The Leapfrog Group, but many others as well.
Every morning, hospital leaders participate in a daily safety briefing, “looking back” to review the events of the past 24 hours and “ looking forward” to preview what might happen in the next 24. Is a severe storm in the forecast? Do on-site or nearby construction projects necessitate a change in traffic flow for patients?
“These meetings allow our leadership team and physicians to be proactive and identify solutions to challenges,” says Clyne. Health professionals at CMMC also meet often to review specific areas of focus in quality improvement and safety.
Additionally, the leadership team fosters a culture of safety with a program called Rounding to Influence, in which leaders regularly visit all areas of the hospital to ensure awareness and provide additional education and support, especially to front-line staff. All staff members undergo safety training.
These efforts are supported by the recent elevation of Naveen Ballem, MD, FACS, Medical Director of Bariatric Services at CMMC, to the position of Chief Clinical Effectiveness Officer. In this pivotal new role, Dr. Ballem will oversee the planning and execution of initiatives in the areas of Quality Improvement, Performance Excellence, Regulatory Compliance, Patient Safety and Infection Control.
“We are extremely fortunate to have Dr. Ballem in this new role,” says Clyne. “This will elevate further our clinical performance and outcomes for those we serve, as well as enhancing the culture of our High Reliability Organization.”
Learn more about treatment and services at Clara Maass Medical Center.