Individual unions

Grace Under Pressure Kellie Applen Fri, 09/23/2016 - 10:51

Region

Northern California

Keywords

San Rafael Medical Center

Topic

Request Number

vid_142_grace_under_pressure

Running Time

1:28

Long Teaser

The San Rafael Medical Center operators UBT finds ways to manage the stress of answering and responding to tens of thousands of phone calls per month.

Communicator (reporters)

Non-LMP

Editor (if known, reporters)

Non-LMP

Status

Released

Date of publication

09/23/2016 - 12:00

The San Rafael Medical Center operators UBT finds ways to manage the stress of answering and responding to tens of thousands of phone calls per month.

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Why We Speak Up

Submitted by tyra.l.ferlatte on Mon, 08/29/2016 - 17:33

Region

Keywords

Topics

Role

Hank

Long Teaser

Workplace injuries vanish almost entirely after these pharmacy workers find their voice—and begin peer rounding.

Communicator (reporters)

Sherry Crosby

Editor (if known, reporters)

Tyra Ferlatte

Photos & Artwork (reporters)

Only use image in listings (editors)

not listing only

Status

Developing

Tracking (editors)

09/07/2016 - 12:00

Story content (editors)

Deck

Workplace injuries vanish almost entirely after these pharmacy workers find their voice

Byline

Sherry Crosby

Story body part 1

Angela Chandler and Nee Tang, Pharm.D., didn’t like what they were seeing.

The team co-leads for the West Los Angeles Ambulatory Care Pharmacy crouched beside Camille Wong, scrutinizing her posture as the pharmacist and UNAC/UHCP member sat typing at her computer.

After a quick huddle, the pair worked together to adjust Wong’s chair until she was sitting in the ideal position to protect her from pain—and a potential injury.

“I didn’t know I could adjust my chair this way. It feels good,” Wong said appreciatively, her feet resting flat on the floor and her legs bent at the appropriate 90-degree angle.

Shift in culture

Such peer safety rounds are one of the hallmarks of a dramatic shift in culture for the team, a shift that has built engagement and created a workplace where frontline workers feel confident speaking up. The department went 3½ years without injuries and earned a national workplace safety award earlier this year.

“We’re all in it together, and we’re all here for each other,” says Chakana Mayo, a pharmacy technician and UFCW Local 770 member who is the team’s workplace safety champion.

But the situation was not always so bright.

In 2011 and 2012, the department experienced a spate of workplace injuries. Employees, who spend most of their time on phones and computers, were sometimes reluctant to report pain—including one who suffered a repetitive motion injury so severe that it required two surgeries and time off from work.

“It was really a wake-up call,” says Tang, a pharmacy supervisor and the team’s management co-lead. “We needed to make sure that everyone feels comfortable enough to speak up when they have a problem.”

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To Prevent Falls, No Patient Walks Alone

Treating every patient as a fall risk and ensuring each patient is accompanied
Installing bed alarms to let staff know when a patient was trying to sit up
Rounding on patients hourly to get them out of bed and into the bathroom safely

What can your team do to reduce slips, trips and falls in your area? What else could your team do to create a culture of safety?

Read more about To Prevent Falls, No Patient Walks Alone

Preventing Patient Falls—the Power of the Huddle

Posting calendar of patient falls in the department to increase visibility of the issue
Huddling daily and including a safety briefing
Educating patients about the precautions they can take when they need to get out of bed

What can your team do to focus on creating a culture of safety?

Read more about Preventing Patient Falls—the Power of the Huddle

Preventing Pressure Ulcers—Respiratory Team Preserves Patient Safety

Researching and trying different breathing equipment
Improving communication among team members and other health care workers, such as wound nurses
Focusing on fixing problems, not blaming each other

What can your team do to increase awareness of how equipment can impact patient care?

Read more about Preventing Pressure Ulcers—Respiratory Team Preserves Patient Safety

Small Changes, Healthy Babies—A Quicker Path to Vaccinations

Giving injections in the exam room, rather than the injection clinic
Limiting the choice for physicians to two versions of the same vaccine to choose from—instead of several
Huddling among medical assistants and physicians once or twice a day to determine which of their incoming patients need vaccines. Medical assistants then have the shots ready for those patients

What can your team do to use small tests of change in tackling large problems?

Read more about Small Changes, Healthy Babies—A Quicker Path to Vaccinations

Getting Patients Walking and Home Faster

Starting with a truly small test of change: one shift on one day
Creating a flow sheet to see how long it took for doctors’ orders on walking with patients to be met
Standardizing a mobility protocol for all patients

What can your team do with a small test of change? What else could your team do to make Kaiser Permanente the best place to work and receive care?

Read more about Getting Patients Walking and Home Faster

Making Early Detection Easy With Screening Prompts

Designating and training a HealthConnect super-user on the team
Coaching and mentoring all team members on using the prompts in HealthConnect to urge patients to agree to sceenings and book appointments
Tracking how often staff members remind patients to get screenings

What can your team do to ensure that members and patients get their necessary screenings? What else could your team do to coach and mentor HeatlthConnect super-users?

Laureen Lazarovici Sat, 08/06/2016 - 18:52

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How to Reduce Supply Expenses

Involving nurses, physicians and materials management in the project from the beginning
Mobilizing all UBT members to use stickers to indicate which supplies they use—and which they could live without
Managing resistance to change

What can your team do to engage everyone in performance improvement efforts? What else could your team do to encourage feedback and help individuals manage change?

Read more about How to Reduce Supply Expenses

Kids Learn to Grow and Cook Healthy Food

Partnering with Thriving Schools, one of KP’s Community Benefit programs
Adapting a successful program in a new and innovative context
Mobilizing KP care givers to volunteer in their own community, leveraging their specific expertise

What can your team do to participate in KP's Community Benefit programs? What else could your team do to build a culture of health and safety in the workplace?

Laureen Lazarovici Tue, 07/19/2016 - 15:16

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