Penticton Regional Hospital is the first facility in B.C. to win consecutive BC Patient Safety and Quality Council (BCPSQC) Awards of Excellence, Hon. Colin Hansen, Minister of Health Services announced today.
“Congratulations are in order for Penticton Regional Hospital,” said Hansen. “To be recognized two years straight for excellence demonstrates the calibre of Penticton Regional’s staff and physicians, and that the community is well-served by this hospital.”
“Time and again we hear stories about the exceptional staff and physicians at Penticton Regional Hospital,” said Bill Barisoff, MLA Penticton. “It truly is their leadership that makes PRH such an outstanding health care facility and we are thankful to have them.”
Penticton Regional Hospital’s Renal Team won the 2010 Excellence in Quality and Patient Safety, Living with Illness Award in recognition of their Involved Care Project. Operating since February 2010, this program allows hemodialysis patients to set their own individual goals for self care and promotes independent dialysis, both in hospital and at home. The Involved Care Project offers the tools and support for patients to manage their own health care to the greatest degree possible.
“The key to the Involved Care Project’s success is that our patients choose the degree they want to be involved in their own care,” Dr. Gerry Karr, Medical Director IH Kidney Services. “It’s the patient-driven approach that alleviates any fear they may have had in learning how to manage their own dialysis.”
In 2009, PRH’s Falls Prevention Team also won an Excellence in Quality and Patient Safety award for developing a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary falls prevention program that other facilities in Interior Health are now following. The initial falls prevention pilot demonstrated great success with 43% fewer falls and a 57% reduction in the number of residents identified as living with a high risk of falling.
“What strikes me in particular about these projects is that both are serving as models of change outside the walls of the hospital in which they were pioneered,” said Norman Embree, IH Board Chair. “It shows that IH is dedicated to sharing best practices and improving patient care wherever we can.”
The Involved Care Project is the first of its kind in B.C. and there are plans to expand it locally within IH and provincially.
“The BC Patient Safety & Quality Council Awards are meant to shine a spotlight on people who are making positive, sustainable changes across B.C.’s health system,” said Dr. Doug Cochrane, Chair of the BC Patient Safety and Quality Council. “Penticton Regional Hospital is certainly deserving of that spotlight given both winning projects are being looked at by, and used in, other facilities.”
The BC Patient Safety and Quality Council was established by the B.C. government in 2008 to enhance patient safety, prevent the occurrence of adverse events, promote transparency and accountability, and identify best practices to improve patient care.