Healthcare Improvement Project Essay Discussion
Healthcare Improvement Project Essay Discussion
Appendix K
Healthcare Improvement Project
Final Status Report (D161)
Project Summary |
Report Date |
Project Name |
Prepared By |
| 10/09/2022 | Prevention of Patient Falls in the Geriatric Unit | Name |
PROJECT DESCRIPTIONThis HIP aimed to introduce comprehensive nursing care that promotes the prevention of patient falls among geriatric patients seeking care at the unit. By implementing multimodal nursing interventions to prevent patient falls, the project manager, the MSN student, in this case, is expected to reduce the overall burden posed on the healthcare setting, patients, and families by falls. Patient falls are associated with injuries, increased length of hospitalization, poor health outcomes, and increased cost of care. Patients and families affected by falls often report poor experiences with health care. Thus, the interventions proposed in this healthcare improvement project were expected to combat the problem of patient falls, promote patient safety, enhance health outcomes and improve experiences with health care. Healthcare Improvement Project Essay Discussion ORDER HERE A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER |
PROJECT MILESTONES |
MILESTONES |
MAJOR TASKS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS |
| Initiation Phase
|
The initiation phase encompassed identifying the need for change within the healthcare organization and designing the project. The major tasks were:
Identification of the problem, need for change or gaps analysis, development of project SMART + C goal, goal outcome statement and objectives, Identification of key stakeholders including nurse administrators, choosing the team to work with during the HIP, analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) |
| Planning Phase | The planning phase included collaboration with stakeholders and drafting the project outline. The major tasks were: the development of the work breakdown structure, determining timelines and schedules, including the formation of the Gantt chart, and assigning responsibilities to the various project members. Major tasks and accomplishments also included the development of the following documents: RACI tool, budget, communication plan, and action plan to be used during the implementation phase. It is at this phase that the plan for team meetings was made. Healthcare Improvement Project Essay Discussion |
| Implementation & Control Phase | Following the kick-off meeting that succeeded the planning phase, the implementation phase began with staff education. Other major tasks and accomplishments included patient education, implementing fall prevention interventions, assigning resources as needed, supporting the staff members, engaging stakeholders, and meeting the project team.
Controlling the project included a first run-through day that tested the implementation workflow, cost projection at the initial phases of implementation to ensure that budget variances are minimized, controlling the budget using the Gantt chart, RACI tool, and communication plan to manage the implementation phase, removing barriers, utilizing the rapid cycle improvement of Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle to modify the workflows, and adjusting timelines as required. |
| Evaluation & Closure Phase | The evaluation phase would include determining the results of two-weekly mini-checks and overall outcomes of the implementation process. The PM would identify whether the project implementation caused a significant reduction in patient fall rates and improved care outcomes. The project closure would involve holding the final meeting with the team to review the timeline, discuss lessons learned and reflect on the experience with the team. Another major task was holding a wrap-up session. |
Budget Overview |
TOTAL BUDGET |
TOTAL SPENT |
DIFFERENCE (IF ANY) |
REASON FOR RESULTS |
| $34, 110.4 | $34, 110.4 | All money allocated for the HIP was used. Most of the items were well budgeted and stayed within the project budget. However, some items, such as actual teaching, were over-budgeted, while preparation for staff education was under-budgeted. A revision of the budget helped balance the extra money to provide missing items. Consequently, all money budgeted for was used, and the HIP stayed within the projected budget. |
PROJECT KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS |
||
KPIs |
SUMMARY OF PROJECT PERFORMANCE IN MEETING KPIs |
| The project’s key performance indicator was a decrease in patient falls during the data and mini-outcome checks in weeks 2, 4, and 6. The team would use the KPI to contrast baseline and post-implementation patient fall incidence rates. | The goal of the HIP was to reduce patient fall rates by 40% by implementing multimodal fall prevention interventions among geriatric patients. The project would be monitored continuously to determine the impact of the intervention on patient fall rates. |
PROJECT OUTCOME |
Following the implementation of planned interventions, the project manager managed the phase and controlled it to ensure effectiveness in time and efficiency of resource use. The project evaluation revealed that the HIP was successful because it significantly reduced patient falls by a rate of 2.74 per 1000 patient days. Besides, the outcome surpassed the goal of reducing patient falls by 40%, and the benchmark was 3.44 per 1000 patient days for medical and surgical units. The project outcomes reveal that the project was a success because the multimodal interventions reduce the problem of patient falls in the geriatric unit within the specified time and budgeted resources. The project team believes that the continued implementation of the interventions will reduce patient falls, negatively affecting the patient, healthcare organization, and family. Healthcare Improvement Project Essay Discussion
Wrap-up Section with Stakeholders
The project’s stakeholders played an integral role in achieving its intended goal. Their cooperation, dedication, and team-working with the other project champions made this project a success. Besides, the team outlined crucial recommendations that would collectively alleviate and significantly reduce the rate of patient falls at the unit. For instance, the stakeholders proposed the need to continue implementing the project’s outlined interventions at the healthcare facility. Regular and continued staff and patient training were also deemed necessary throughout the implementation and evaluation phases to foster appropriate practices to prevent patient falls.
Extension of the project to other relevant departments or units to curb patient falls was unanimously agreed upon. Upon realization of the project’s KPI within the healthcare organization, the lesson learned was its implementation would not be at stake. With the HPI project meeting its desired goal was a real measure of success, thus significantly reducing the patient fall rates. Minor challenges were faced, including delayed task completion. As such, fairer distribution of tasks to equally competent personnel is an instance of what would be done differently in a similar project or next time. Such change would spearhead the project to meet its timelines and streamline its implementation process.
The project bolsters nursing practice by providing evidence-based interventions that would improve the overall quality of patient care upon adoption in the healthcare organization. The project would further alleviate the burden, additional costs, and health concerns associated with unintended patient falls in clinical settings. Healthcare Improvement Project Essay Discussion
