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In This Issue:
After spending five days traversing BWH’s distributed campus, the team of surveyors from The Joint Commission (TJC) came away impressed with the hospital’s commitment to delivering high-quality, safe care to patients and families.
The six-person survey team used The Joint Commission’s tracer methodology and followed dozens of patients to approximately 50 departments and units throughout the Shapiro Center, Tower, Connors Center, Emergency Department, Pharmacy, operating rooms, procedure areas, 221 Longwood Ave., Brigham and Women’s/Mass General Health Care Center at Foxborough, Brigham and Women’s Ambulatory Care Center at 850 Boylston St. and Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center. About 400 BWH clinical, administrative and support staff were directly involved with the surveyors, impressing the team with top-notch clinical practice, knowledge of hospital policies and adherence to national safety standards.
“Staff preparation and engagement were clearly evident, and, as a new observer to this process, I was so proud to hear the accolades the surveyors shared about our care providers and support teams, our practices and our facilities,” said BWH President Betsy Nabel, MD. “The survey team offered glowing descriptions, rich in recognition and praise, including ‘very impressive - best practices - phenomenal job.’ Generous phrases, such as ‘marvelous staff - excellent care - experts in the knowledge of the patient - your patients love the care they receive’ filled their daily updates.”
The Joint Commission’s preliminary report was presented to BWH leadership at the conclusion of the survey. The hospital received high marks along with areas identified for improvement.
Surveyors commended BWH staff for their commitment to teamwork. “They noticed extraordinary interdisciplinary teamwork among our social workers, nurses, PCAs, dietitians, interpreters, chaplains, care coordinators, physical therapists, occupational therapists, physicians, pharmacists and respiratory therapists,” said Mairead Hickey, PhD, RN, chief nursing officer and senior vice president of Patient Care Services.
Nabel added, “Thank you to the entire BWH community for your steadfast support throughout the survey process and for the standard of excellence you embrace and put forth to provide unparalleled care to our patients and their families who depend on us every day.”
BWH Compliance is working with identified staff to gather information to complete the hospital’s survey report response to The Joint Commission. BWH’s response must address areas identified for improvement and be returned to The Joint Commission within 45 days.