Quality and patient safety from the top: A case study of St. Francis medical center governing board's call to action

Abstract

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) has broadened their campaign focus to include protecting hospital patients from five million incidents of medical harm through 2008. A critical component of this campaign is the engagement of governance in the process, noting evidence of better patient outcomes for hospitals with governing boards that spend at least 25% of their time on quality and safety. St. Francis Medical Center (SFMC), a 384-bed hospital in Southeast Los Angeles serving a high number of uninsured and underinsured patients and a population characterized by significant poverty, has initiated through a top-down approach, an aggressive plan to improve the care at its facilities through a call to action by its board of directors. In this article innovative methods are shared, tools are provided, and the initial positive results achieved are reported which show how a cultural change is occurring regarding quality and patient safety (QPS) at this hospital's organizational and delivery system level.

Citation

Rubino, L. and Chan, M. (2008), "Quality and patient safety from the top: A case study of St. Francis medical center governing board's call to action", Savage, G.T. and Ford, E.W. (Ed.) Patient Safety and Health Care Management (Advances in Health Care Management, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 103-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-8231(08)07005-5