2009 Summit on Quality

Summit attendees were energized and motivated by the keynote presenter Michael Leonard, MD of Pascal Metrics--a leader in patient safety culture.  In his presentation, “A Systematic Approach to Clinical Excellence,” Dr. Leonard discussed many key issues in the healthcare quality and patient safety landscape and discussed the profiles of market leaders such as Mayo Clinic, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and others.  One Summit participant summed it up best, “Dr. Leonard is a great speaker!  Captures the attention, keeps it and makes you want more.”

Tom Evans, MD of the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative (IHC) shared a “Case for Change: Immunization of Healthcare Workers” inviting Summit participants to join KHC’s Influenza Immunization of Healthcare Worker campaign set to formally launch across Kansas in early 2010.  Immunizing all healthcare workers against seasonal influenza to improve the health of patients and fellow co-workers is a primary goal of this campaign.

According to one Summit attendee regarding the eight breakout sessions featured at this event, “Hearing from the frontlines is very valuable.”  Twenty-five Kansas providers representing a variety of disciplines shared their success stories and valuable insights gained from implementing quality and safety programming within their hospitals and physician office settings.  Topics ranged from creating a culture of quality and excellence to relevant and timely clinical applications in the practice environment.

There’s no doubt, based on the feedback from Summit participants, that this educational opportunity was not only valuable, but a welcome resource to facilitate the efforts of physicians and hospitals in the areas of quality and patient safety.  Our efforts to equip physicians, hospitals, nurses and others with strategies and resources that will directly affect the care of their patients will continue next year.  Planning has already started for the Summit on Quality 2010.  Look for updates on our progress throughout the year, and in the words of one Summit attendee, “We need to keep looking at safety and quality—we cannot ever do enough.”