Frankfort Regional Medical Center (FRMC) has received the Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) 2020 Quality Award in the 100 to 250-bed category. The award is presented to honor hospital leadership and innovation in quality, safety and commitment in patient care. FRMC is one of seven hospitals from across Kentucky honored this year.
The goals of this award are to raise awareness of the need for organization-wide commitment to highly reliable, exceptional quality, patient-centered care; reward successful efforts to develop and promote improvements in quality of care; inspire organizations to systematically integrate and align their quality improvement efforts throughout the organization; communicate successful programs and strategies to the hospital field; and facilitate Kentucky hospitals' alignment of quality initiatives with national initiatives.
FRMC has a zero tolerance for hospital-acquired conditions, including hospital-acquired infections. In the 2018-2019 timeframe, FRMC patients experienced five hospital-acquired CAUTIs (catheter-acquired urinary tract infections). This triggered intense focus on the elimination of CAUTIs.
"This award demonstrates Frankfort Regional Medical Center's dedication to patient safety," said Reed Hammond, FRMC chief executive officer. "We strive to provide the highest quality in patient care, and we are proud of our staff working together to make a difference in the communities we serve."
Every employee at FRMC is engaged in achieving the hospital's goals and creates a performance management plan (PMP) annually. Each employee is responsible for updating the PMP twice a year by describing how they have contributed to FRMC's quality improvement activities. The hospital uses Failure Mode and Effects Cause Analysis to identify process flaws and develop new processes to avoid unanticipated future events. The application of these tools and techniques resulted in a reduction in urinary catheter days and only one hospital-acquired CAUTI in an 11-month period ending in May 2020.