| BMH
Implements New Code to Improve Patient Care
 Brattleboro
Memorial Hospital started its Rapid Response Team in
March of last year and it has led to significant improvement
in patient care. In the year prior to the availability
of the Rapid Response Team there were nine Code Blue
events (crash calls, a method still used when there
is a clear case of cardiopulmonary arrest or heart-stopping
event) as compared to four Code Blue events in the same
time frame after Rapid Response Teams were initiated
at BMH. It has now added a Code H involving the patient
and family.
Code H is a system made available for patients or
their families to call if they feel there has been a
serious change in the patient’s condition, or
if the patient is experiencing a medical emergency and,
after speaking with a member of the healthcare team,
it is perceived they are not getting the response they
wanted. The patient/family is encouraged to activate
a Code H which prompts a clinician to come to the patient.
The official implementation of this initiative was begun
in early September.
The Rapid Response initiative reduces mortality and
also the number of Code Blue events. The Rapid Response
Team is composed of clinicians such as a respiratory
care practitioner and a nursing supervisor – in
collaboration with the physician – who bring critical
care expertise to the patient. Getting help to patients
before a Code Blue event increases their likelihood
of survival.
Studies show that the failure to recognize a patient’s
deteriorating condition often leads to variability in
both quality of care and the safety of patients in health
care today. This performance improvement initiative
at BMH was originally piloted by a group of eight hospitals
in 2002. They worked with the Institute for Healthcare
Improvement (IHI) to analyze inpatient mortality and
to test the IHI hypothesis that a combination of evidence-based
interventions can reduce mortality rates. This study
led to the Rapid Response Team initiative, and the subsequent
Code H system.
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (www.ihi.org)
is a not-for-profit organization leading the improvement
of health care throughout the world. Founded in 1991
and based in Cambridge, MA, IHI is a catalyst for change,
cultivating innovative concepts for improving patient
care, and implementing programs for putting those ideas
into action. Thousands of healthcare providers, including
many of the finest hospitals in the world, participate
in the groundbreaking work of IHI. BMH is pleased to
continue its work with IHI and these hospitals in its
quest for the improvement of the safety and care of
our patients.
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