High-quality Care: A Priority at Baptist

Baptist Memorial Health Care held its annual spring quality symposium in April 2018. This is the 20th year for the event, which highlights and recognizes Baptist Memorial hospitals that promote and achieve quality care. While this might not sound interesting to most patients, it directly affects their care and recovery while in the hospital.

The symposium also is important to Baptist team members and leadership because providing safe and high-quality care is a part of the Baptist culture. It’s as important to Baptist team members as it is to patients and their families. That’s why team members spend the entire year prior developing and implementing new processes to ensure they consistently deliver the best care for patients.

During the symposium, team members hear from leading experts in the field, such as Blair Childs, senior vice president of public affairs for Premier Inc.—a nationally recognized health care improvement company.  They also learn about new processes being implemented at other Baptist hospitals and the outcomes achieved as a result. This encourages all to improve and spurs a little competition which, ultimately, results in better care for patients.  

As a result of initiatives previously implemented, a number of Baptist hospitals have experienced significant advancements in patient care. It’s hard to believe something as simple as following a routine practice has the potential to eliminate inaccuracies, prevent mistakes and elevate the quality of care. But that has proven to be the reality and resulted in significant advancements. For example,

• Not one patient being treated at Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women has fallen in three-and-a-half years.
• Not one patient at seven Baptist Memorial hospitals has developed a urinary tract or blood infection as a result of being treated in the hospital in nearly two years.
• Baptist Women’s Hospital won the top award—President’s Quality Award—for its efforts to recognize and respond to excessive bleeding among new mothers after delivery. Rather than estimate the amount of blood loss, the team developed a process that quantifies the amount of blood loss so that caregivers recognize patients who are critical and in need of immediate intervention. This protocol has saved lives, and Baptist Women’s Hospital has been asked to share it locally, nationally and internationally.

These outcomes are significant in the medical field, and they show Baptist Memorial Hospital team members’ dedication to caring for patients. It has taken years, vigilance on a daily basis and much effort to identify areas for improvement and to achieve these results. But it has been worth it to every team member to know he or she is providing the best care for patients.