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Hospital touts Lown Institute recognition and flags hand-hygiene and opioid-safety focus areas
Summary
Hospital executives said the organization received Lown Institute recognition and stroke and geriatric accreditations, while the CMO said hand-hygiene compliance dipped to the mid-60s after a methodology change and is improving toward the high 80s; opioid-safety measurement under CMS remains an area of attention.
CEO Kelly highlighted recent external recognitions — the hospital received straight A's from the Lown Institute for social responsibility, geriatric emergency department accreditation, and stroke care recognition. Kelly urged the board to publicize the achievements in monthly communications and outreach.
CMO Dr. Okolo said core quality metrics remain strong overall but noted two specific areas that need further work. Hand-hygiene compliance fell to about 64% after a change in observation methodology but has improved into the high 80s after increasing observations and education. He also identified opioid safety as a narrow CMS-defined metric where patients from skilled nursing facilities can affect abstractions; staff plan to address the metric operationally rather than contest CMS methodology.
