TRENTON, N.J., April 21, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals (NJCTH) announced today its member-wide collaborative with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's (IHI) "100,000 Lives Campaign" -- the first formal state-wide movement in the United States. The New Jersey collaborative of 13 hospitals kicked-off the campaign Tuesday with the launch of the Rapid Response Team Intervention Program -- the first of four initiatives -- at a day-long seminar at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton Health and Wellness Center in Mercerville, New Jersey.
"Hospitals are in the business of saving lives and our members understand the importance of continually reviewing and implementing quality improvement protocols that can significantly improve outcomes," says J. Richard Goldstein, M.D., President of NJCTH. "Our members actively change work procedures everyday to improve patient safety and eliminate errors. The 100,000 Lives Campaign enhances these efforts statewide and nationally by having hospitals focus on the same issues, adopt best practices, and share data and results on methods that work. Additionally, this campaign also allows participants to learn from and cross-fertilize with other pioneering institutions across the nation. This is a well-organized assault to address patient safety concerns and New Jersey's teaching hospitals intend to be at the forefront of implementing positive change."
NJCTH is serving as a leader of New Jersey's "node" for the initiative, and assumes responsibility for coordinating and optimizing activities, hosting conferences with national experts and facilitating monthly team meetings with expert consultation.
Donald M. Berwick, M.D., President and CEO of IHI, welcomes NJCTH to the Campaign. "The participation and leadership of NJCTH is a thrilling boost to this important Campaign. All hospitals are welcome in this effort, but teaching hospitals play a unique and crucial role, bringing a special form of energy. They provide an example for others, and, through their influence on developing young professionals, they shape our future. I am deeply grateful for the trust shown by the Council in supporting this movement for change."
The "100,000 Lives Campaign," launched by IHI in December of last year, is an effort to accelerate meaningful and evidence-based improvement strategies throughout U.S. hospitals that can dramatically reduce morbidity and mortality. The Campaign is part of IHI's ongoing commitment to implement the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine's 2001 report, "Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century." The 100,000 Lives Campaign focuses on six quality improvement initiatives:
-- Deploy Rapid Response Teams -- at the first sign of
patient decline;
-- Deliver Reliable Evidence-Based Care for Acute
Myocardial Infarction -- to prevent patient deaths from
heart attacks;
-- Prevent Adverse Drug Events -- by implementing
medication reconciliation;
-- Prevent Central Line Infections -- by delivering a series
of interdependent, scientifically grounded steps called the
"Central Line Bundle";
-- Prevent Surgical Site Infections -- by reliably delivering
the correct perioperative antibiotics at the proper time;
-- Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia -- by implementing a
series of interdependent, scientifically grounded steps,
including the "Ventilator Bundle."
The New Jersey Collaborative will launch three associated Intervention Programs, including "Prevent Adverse Drug Events," "Prevent Surgical Site Infections," and "Critical Care Bundle: Prevent Central Line Infections and Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia" in the coming months. Participants in this endeavor will continue to provide data to track improvements in, "Deliver Reliable Evidence-Based Care for Acute Myocardial Infarction."
"IHI's improvement initiatives have solid evidence behind them," said Fred Jacobs, M.D., Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. "Through NJCTH's participation in the '100,000 Lives Campaign,' all hospitals throughout the state will be able to benefit from collaborative implementation seminars and monthly team meetings that will feature national experts, in addition to opportunities to share best practices among peers. The Department of Health and Senior Services is committed to improving the quality of care delivered to patients throughout the state of New Jersey."
According to IHI, while hospitals and health care organizations have made strides in making health care safer and more effective, the pace of change overall remains slow and fragmented. The 100,000 Lives Campaign advocates the rapid implementation of best practices known to reduce harm and save lives.
"Even one preventable death in New Jersey is one too many. Our goal is reduce the gross mortality percentage of hospital admissions to be among the lowest in the nation. If we succeed with this campaign across the state, we believe we can reduce the number of hospital deaths in New Jersey by about 2,000," says Christopher T. Olivia, M.D., CEO of Cooper University Hospital and Chairman of NJCTH, as well as a staunch proponent for improving quality care and patient safety.
The first seminar on Rapid Response Team Deployment focused on early identification of non-ICU patients who are becoming unstable. By improving early recognition, communication and planning, a team of critical care trained clinicians can be deployed to patients throughout the hospitals to prevent cardiac arrest. The implementation of a few proven interventions has been documented to remarkably impact patient care. According to IHI studies, the use of Rapid Response Teams at one hospital can reduce the number of cardiac arrests by 66 percent and the number of deaths from heart attacks by 56 percent.
According to Charles Denham, M.D., Chairman of the Texas Medical Institute of Technology (TMIT), "NJCTH and its members will have a terrific impact on patient safety across all of New Jersey. The speed and professionalism with which this group of hospital leaders assembled a world class collaborative is unprecedented and will inspire other state groups to follow their lead." TMIT is a non-profit medical research organization dedicated to drive adoption of clinical solutions in patient safety and healthcare performance improvement. TMIT sponsors numerous projects in patient safety such as IHI programs. TMIT studies solution adoption through a research test bed of 2,100 hospitals.
NJCTH institutions participating in the collaborative include: the University of Medicine and Dentistry; Atlantic Health System's Morristown Memorial Hospital, Overlook Hospital and Mountainside Hospital; Cooper University Hospital; Meridian Health's Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Ocean Medical Center and Riverview Medical Center; the Robert Wood Johnson Health Network's Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton, and Bayshore Community Health Services; Somerset Medical Center; St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center; and University of Medicine and Dentistry-University Hospital.
Hospitals wishing to participate in the New Jersey Collaborative or learn more about NJCTH's seminars for the '100,000 Lives Campaign,' can call (609) 656-9621.
The New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals is the state's premier teaching hospital network and foremost advocate for advanced healthcare. NJCTH's membership represents more than 29,000 health care professionals, and provides care to more than 261,000 inpatients and almost 3 million outpatients every year.