Asking Questions and Innovation in Practice

Lots of cool stuff going on at SSM St. Clare Health Center.

Namely, question asking:

Building from the ground up, SSM officials sought to streamline the health care delivery process through a facility that maximizes patient and practitioner efficiency. They started by turning inward, scrutinizing processes like outpatient admissions and emergency department procedures and soliciting opinions from staff, physicians and patients.

“It’s asking each one of us who deliver health care in today’s current state to really broaden our horizons, challenge the way we do things, ask ‘why’ a million times and then figure out what’s the right way,” said Brobst, a clinical director at St. Joseph.

YES!

And a commitment to delivery innovation:

Brobst oversees a unique 22-bed medical and surgical pilot unit that mimics conditions at the soon-to-open St. Clare. Housed in a medical office building connected to St. Joseph, the pilot unit allows nurses and physicians to implement new procedures and processes in real-world conditions.

The health system also spent more than $110,000 on a full-scale mock-up of a patient’s room at the new hospital. More than 150 St. Joseph employees have walked through the prototype in the last two years, providing feedback that resulted in changes ranging from the creation of individual nurse alcoves outside each room to wall-length safety bars leading from the bed to the bathroom.

YES!

Forward thinking hospitals. It’s cool to see good ideas in action.