Frankford Hospitals’ Performance Improvement Committee is responsible for the planning, direction and coordination of a hospital-wide Performance Improvement Program including prioritization of Performance Improvement projects. The Committee sponsors multidisciplinary project teams that use the tools of Performance Improvement to identify processes and systems for improvement that include but are not limited to high volume, high risk and problem prone categories. Measurement systems, which include process and outcome indicators, have been designed and are used by teams responsible for improvement. Education in statistical process, team building, leading, and facilitating have been developed and are available to team leaders, facilitators and members. Each Team reports to the Committee as projects progress so that it is able to monitor performance continuously.

Each year, Frankford honors the Performance Improvement Project Teams making the largest strides in coordinating performance improvement initiatives with the Hospitals’ Way-to-Glow™ award.

Gene Johnson (center), Senior Vice President, and Mary Magee, RN, MSN, (right), Performance Improvement Coordinator, congratulate Torresdale’s Operating Room Nursing Team (from left to right) Diane Roche, RN, Charge Nurse, Short Procedure Unit, Joanne Kelly, RN, Charge Nurse, Outpatient Operating Room, and Eleanor Kelly, MS, RN, CNOR, Nurse Manager, Operating Room, for being named Frankford Hospitals’ 2003 Performance Improvement Way-to-Glow™ Department Winner.

Performance Improvement Department Winner – Operating Room Nursing – Torresdale Campus
Nurse Manager, Eleanor Kelly, MS, RN, CNOR

The OR Manager and staff were introduced to their new role in PI in November 2002. To compare their reaction to Performance Improvement today to our first meeting is like watching, as they described, “the child they never knew they had” grow from a bewildered, curious infant to a Summa Cum Laude graduate! They have embraced Performance Improvement and instilled the ideals into their everyday practice. Their work demonstrates why they’re a winner!

Gene Johnson (left), Senior Vice President, and Mary Magee, RN, MSN, (right), Performance Improvement Coordinator, congratulate members of Torresdale’s Exposure Reduction Task Force (ERTF) (from left to right) Carole Wurst, Coordinator, Operating Room Materials, and Rose Brown, Assistant Director, Laboratory Operations, for being named Frankford Hospitals’ 2003 Performance Improvement Way-to-Glow™ Team Winner.

Performance Improvement Team Winner – Exposure Reduction Task Force (ERTF) – Chair: Carole Wurst
This multi-disciplinary task force has unfortunately been a well kept secret throughout the hospital community since it was created in February 2000. During these years, the team has quietly worked behind the scenes to increase awareness, educate, investigate and purchase equipment to improve our work environment and help reduce employee exposures to disease. One way they have accomplished this goal was the institution of the “Hands-Free Technique” used in the operating rooms. Hopefully, the “exposure” of being this year’s PI Team winner will improve everyone’s awareness of the ERTF’s existence. It also provides all of us the opportunity to thank the team for their efforts in our safety!


Honorable Mention Category:

Frankford Campus Nursing Unit 4 West Nurse Manager, Deborah Trauffer, RN
The mission of the 4West nursing staff at Frankford Hospital - Frankford is to provide high-quality holistic care and exceptional customer service. The staff continually strives to identify opportunities for improvement. 4West takes pride in its ability to work together as a cohesive team to improve processes and actively participate on committees with a goal to exceed standards.

Torresdale Campus Cardiac Catheterization Lab Nurse Manager, Mary Lou Graves, RN
Mary Lou Graves, RN, has piloted the cardiac catherization lab nursing staff to become the pioneers in leading nursing into the world of research study and improving patient outcomes. Their team effort in Performance Improvement FOCUS-PDCA ACT study, led to the discovery of the appropriateness and safety of timing in the “pulling” of sheaths. They continue to demonstrate their commitment to patient safety and satisfaction, and commitment to PI.

Bucks County Campus Nursing Unit 1 North – Behavioral Health Nurse Manager, Melody Lauer, RN
The staff of the Behavioral Health Unit is committed to continuously improving care delivery. Utilizing the PI process, the department has improved assessment, care delivery, treatment and safety for the behavioral health patient.

Published: 11-14-2003