2011 KHS Spirit Award
David Wester, PA - Manager of the Community Cares Clinic
This individual is a role model for servant leadership, continuously putting the needs of patients first. Through a difficult year with substantial change and conflict, this person maintained grace under pressure, a positive attitude, flexibility, responsiveness and professionalism.  

He goes above and beyond to help patients find the care they need. He has on numerous occasions worked late or through lunch to “squeeze in” a newborn baby or acutely sick adult. 

He consistently brings all changes back to this question: how will this impact the patient and what we can do better to meet patient needs?  He has been a role model to his staff on how to gracefully, graciously, patiently and respectfully treat and respond to others and bring them along on our journey to great patient care.

2011 People Pillar Award
Glenn Podzimek, RT - Manager of Respiratory Services at Valley West Hospital
Our People Pillar Award winner is an active member of the clinical team; whether providing education to nursing staff or being a resource to other team members. Our nominations tell us he is always willing to do what it takes to take care of our patients. And – one thing that has been evident with our winner – he came to us as a new leader with a vision.

Our nominations describe a leader who is always looking forward. And this vision has impacted his department through his challenge to his team to grow, develop and expand their knowledge and skills. His leadership, collaboration and technical and people skills were integral to the achievement of our Level II Nursery at Valley.

2011 Service Pillar Award
Patient Navigator for Cancer Services, Jodi Diehl, RN
As a result of her work:

• The time from suspicious mammogram to confirmed diagnosis dropped to12 days in the first 9 months of the program, then to less than 7 days and most recently to under 5 days.
• Surgeons are calling her to navigate women diagnosed in their office who will eventually be treated at KCH.
• We are now retaining more patients in the KCH system because we can perform diagnostic tests in a more timely manner.  The number of biopsies done at KCH has increased from 68% in 2008 to 90% in 2010.
• Retention of individuals receiving a portion of their treatment at KCH for breast cancer went from 92% in 2008 to 100% in 2010.
• Patient satisfaction results consistently above the 90th percentile for the past 8 quarters. 

Her work on improving patient and physician satisfaction has resulted in increased market share and has dramatically impacted the quality of care and the experiences of our patients. She has made her vision come true for the benefit of the patient, the community and the hospital. More than one patient has said:

2011 Quality Pillar Award
Cancer Services of KishHealth System

Over the past year, our winner has assisted in the implementation of many quality initiatives to improve patient care and safety. This year, our winner demonstrates again and again how quality and service work together to improve experiences for our patients and our caregivers.

To begin the list: 

• Evidence based order sets were implemented which promotes standardized care for all patients. And standardized care improves efficiency, decreases risk for error and enhances the patient experience.
• Implemented Cancer Survivorship care plan based on Institute of Medicine recommendations – a state of the art approach to monitor for late long term results as people are living longer after surviving cancer.
• Next: Across their services within the health system, all treatment orders are sent to the insurance specialist to be verified prior to administration. This proactive process has greatly decreased the number of denials, which saves money both for the patient and our organization. This, along with implementation of BMV illustrates how quality and service work together to improve things for patients and for our organization. 
• And next across the system: Patient centered improvements were made to the patient education process, once again based on evidence based practice. Studies have found that a patient only retains a portion of the information taught under the best circumstances. So, the patient now brings their support system to a dedicated teaching appointment before the first day of treatment. This reduces some of the uncertainty and anxiety the patient and their family experience. And once again, decreased anxiety leads to better cooperation and increased quality outcomes.
• To evaluate the patient’s level of distress, the staff are using the NCCN Distress Thermometer, a scale that identifies psychosocial, nutritional or financial needs of patients. This enhanced our assessment of needs and improved recognition of patient needs to arrange for referrals.
• Other patient centered quality improvements built standardization into the processes which by definition increases efficiency and decrease errors: These improvements include 
•  A dedicated nurse to triage phone calls from patients, family members, pharmacies, insurance companies, and other callers. 
• A dedicated nursing role for port draws and the administration of injections.
• The implementation of primary care nursing so each nurse now treats the same patient throughout their journey with us. The consistently high patient satisfaction scores reflect the quality care and experiences the patients receive.
• Implementation of a closed chemotherapy system to reduce the risk of exposure for patients and staff.
• At the same time, the staff enhanced processes and procedures across the system to meet regulatory requirements for both quality and safety.