February 28, 2002

Illini Is A National Finalist In Press Ganey Contest

A new communication process aimed at reducing staff overtime and improving inpatient satisfaction has placed Illini Hospital in the national spotlight as one of 31 finalists in the Press Ganey 2001 Client Success Story Contest.

The national accolades focus on the Medical Telemetry Department's new C.A.R.E. (Cumulative Assessment Report Enhancement) form and the change in communication processes resulting from it.

The form, developed by a team of Medical Telemetry nurses and facilitated by Illini's Quality Department, was created to improve communication, shorten the time it took to do reports and transmit the most critical data from shift to shift on patients with a wide range of medical needs. "Using the new form reduced staff reporting time from an average 35 minutes to only 5 minutes per shift," says Kevin Soeken, the customer satisfaction coordinator for Illini's Quality Department. "That meant staff has more time to devote to patient care. In addition, the form has enhanced communications between patients, staff and physicians."

Nurses on the team developed the form based on what information they felt needed to be shared from shift to shift to take the best care of the patient. "The form creates consistency and prevents things from falling through the cracks," Soeken says.

The form sparked many process changes that ultimately improved communication, says Jean Hursman, Illini's director of Medical Telemetry. "We didn't just create a form; we changed processes," Hursman says. "That improved patient care because the nurses became more independent in making care decisions for their patients." The C.A.R.E. form addresses many areas and includes a section for any questions that patients have for physicians. "The transmission of patient questions to physicians was a very positive by- product of the form," Soeken says.

This new process has also become a model of excellence for health care providers across the country. C.A.R.E program developers attended a national health care conference in November where more than 900 people from 373 facilities and 43 states attended. Improving communication between patients, staff and physicians is a common goal among all those in attendance and Illini Hospital has shown why it is #1 in patient satisfaction.