National Outreach of Telepalliative Medicine Volunteers for a New York City Safety Net System COVID-19 Pandemic Response.

The coronavirus disease 2019 surge in New York City created an increased demand for palliative care (PC) services. In staff-limited settings such as safety net systems, and amid growing reports of health care worker illness, leveraging help from less-affected areas around the country may provide an untapped source of support. A national social media outreach effort recruited 413 telepalliative medicine volunteers (TPMVs). After expedited credentialing and onboarding of 67 TPMVs, a two-week pilot was initiated in partnership with five public health hospitals without any previous existing telehealth structure. The volunteers completed 109 PC consults in the pilot period. Survey feedback from TPMVs and on-site PC providers was largely positive, with areas of improvement identified around electronic health record navigation and continuity of care. This was a successful, proof of concept, and quality improvement initiative leveraging TPMVs from across the nation for a PC pandemic response in a safety net system.

The Clinical Quality Fellowship Program: Developing Clinical Quality Leadership in the Greater New York Region.

The Institute of Medicine has noted that a key factor underlying patient safety problems in the United States is a paucity of quality and safety training programs for clinicians. The Greater New York Hospital Association and United Hospital Fund created the Clinical Quality Fellowship Program (CQFP) to develop quality improvement leaders in the New York region. The goals of this article are to describe the CQFP's structure and curriculum, program participants' perceived value, improvement projects, and career paths. Eighty-seven participants completed the CQFP from 2010 to 2014. Among program participants completing self-assessment evaluations, significant improvements were observed across all quality improvement skill areas. Capstone project categories included inpatient efficiency, transitional care, and hospital infection. Fifty-six percent of participants obtained promotions following program completion. A training program emphasizing diverse curricular elements, varied learning approaches, and applied improvement projects increased participants' self-perceived skills, generated diverse improvement initiatives, and was associated with career advancement.

Prevention of hospital-onset Clostridium difficile infection in the New York metropolitan region using a collaborative intervention model.

The incidence, severity, and associated costs of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection (CDI) have dramatically increased in hospitals over the past decade, indicating an urgent need for strategies to prevent transmission of C. difficile. This article describes a multifaceted collaborative approach to reduce hospital-onset CDI rates in 35 acute care hospitals in the New York metropolitan region. Hospitals participated in a comprehensive CDI reduction intervention and formed interdisciplinary teams to coordinate their efforts. Standardized clinical infection prevention and environmental cleaning protocols were implemented and monitored using checklists. Monthly data reports were provided to hospitals for facility-specific performance evaluation and comparison to aggregate data from all participants. Hospitals also participated in monthly teleconferences to review data and highlight successes, challenges, and strategies to reduce CDI. Incidence of hospital-onset CDI per 10,000 patient days was the primary outcome measure. Additionally, the incidence of nonhospital-associated, community-onset, hospital-associated, and recurrent CDIs were measured. The use of a collaborative model to implement a multifaceted infection prevention strategy was temporally associated with a significant reduction in hospital-onset CDI rates in participating New York metropolitan regional hospitals.

How does care differ for neurological patients admitted to a neurocritical care unit versus a general ICU?

BACKGROUND: Neurological patients have lower mortality and better outcomes when cared for in specialized neurointensive care units than in general ICUs. However, little is known about how the process of care differs between these types of units. METHODS: The Greater New York Hospital Association conducted a city-wide 24-h ICU prevalence survey on March 15th, 2007. Data was collected on all patients admitted to 143 ICUs in 69 different hospitals. RESULTS: Of 1,906 ICU patients surveyed, 231 had a primary neurological diagnosis. Of these, 52 (22%) were admitted to one of 9 neuro-ICU's in NY and 179 (78%) to a medical or surgical ICU. Neurological patients in neuro-ICUs were more likely to have been transferred from an outside hospital (37% vs. 11%, P < 0.0001). Hemorrhagic stroke was more frequent in neuro-ICUs (46% vs. 16%, P < 0.0001), whereas traumatic brain injury (2% vs. 24%, P < 0.0001) and ischemic stroke (0% vs. 19%, P = 0.001) were less common. Despite a lower rate of mechanical ventilation (39% vs. 50%, P = 0.15), ICU length of stay was longer in neuro-ICU patients (≥10 days, 40% vs. 17%, P < 0.0001). More neuro-ICU patients had undergone tracheostomy (35% vs. 15%, P = 0.04), invasive hemodynamic monitoring (40% vs. 20%, P = 0.002), and invasive intracranial pressure monitoring (29% vs. 9%, P < 0.001) than patients cared for in general ICUs. Intravenous sedation was less prevalent in neuro-ICUs (12% vs. 30%, P = 0.009) and more patients were receiving nutritional support compared to general ICUs (67% vs. 39%, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Neurological patients cared for in specialty neuro-ICUs underwent more invasive intracranial and hemodynamic monitoring, tracheostomy, and nutritional support, and received less IV sedation than patients in general ICUs. These differences in care may explain previously observed disparities in outcome between neurocritical care and general ICUs.

The CLABs collaborative: a regionwide effort to improve the quality of care in hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Each year, nearly 250,000 cases of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABs) occur in hospitals in the United States. In 2005, the Greater New York Hospital Association and the United Hospital Fund launched a collaborative initiative to eliminate CLABs in hospital intensive care units (ICUs). COLLABORATIVE DESIGN: Hospital leadership at 36 hospitals committed to support their staffs' participation in specific activities, including three learning sessions. An infectious disease physician consultant served as an on-call consultant to provide the necessary clinical guidance, real-time feedback, and support. Most hospitals' interdisciplinary CLABs teams met weekly to implement evidence-based practices known collectively as the central line bundle, determine areas for additional focus, and to reassess strategies using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant decrease of 54% (p < .001) between the mean CLABs rate during the intervention period (2.24 infections per 1,000 central line days) compared with the mean baseline rate (4.85 infections per 1,000 central line days). By March 2008, the rate had dropped by 70% (1.44 infections per 1,000 central line days) compared with baseline. At the hospital level, decreases in CLABs rates up to 88% were observed between the baseline period and the intervention period, with 56% of hospitals achieving at least a 50% decrease in their CLABs rate. The hospitals beginning above the national rate decreased their CLABs rates by almost twice as much as hospitals that began below the national average. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS: Each participating hospital sustained implementation of the central line bundle throughout the 33-month intervention, which, along with standardized line maintenance procedures, resulted in reduction in, and sometimes elimination of, CLABs.