ALAMO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Citing improved overall patient care, peace of mind, and lower healthcare risks and costs, BETA Healthcare Group (BETA) announced that three member hospitals have qualified for a BETA-sponsored scholarship to promote patient and family-centered care.
“Healthcare discussions and decisions are fraught with emotion, complex science and more. Patients and family members want—and deserve—open and honest discussions with care providers and to be included as active participants in their care. That’s the only way to build a culture of safety and trust,” said Tom Wander, CEO, at BETA. “For too long, patients and family members have not been considered part of the healthcare team. Yet studies have shown that not only are patient and family engagement vital to emotional well-being, but their active participation in care and open dialogue between healthcare providers and the patient and family are key in promoting positive health outcomes and preventing medical errors. This approach to care is a win for everyone.”
The Scholarship
The scholarship is twofold. First, it provides for a team of up to four participants from each organization to attend the Institute for Patient and Family Centered Care Intensive Training program. The program, a three and a half day intensive training, includes focused sessions with hospital leaders and individualized time with program faculty who help the participants to identify key priorities for their organizations and develop action plans that will guide them in their efforts towards becoming patient and family centered. Participants will learn strategies for developing patient and family advisory councils, obtaining skills for facilitating and sustaining effective change within their organizations and identifying strategies to develop their individual patient and family centered stage.
Second, recognizing the need for and benefits of open dialogue among clinicians of all disciplines, BETA has partnered with the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare to drive staff engagement. Implementation of Schwartz Center Rounds includes regularly scheduled times for healthcare teams to openly and honestly discuss the emotional and social issues they face in caring for patients and families. The dialogue, which is inter-disciplinary and draws on actual patient cases, allows clinicians to make strong personal connections with both patients and colleagues. Scholarship recipients have committed to moving towards implementation of Schwartz Center Rounds within their organizations within six months.
Active Engagement by All
Studies—and BETA’s own research and feedback—underscore that caring for the patient also means caring and communicating with the patient’s family while recognizing the stress that today’s healthcare system places on clinicians.
“Caregivers are better able to forge stronger connections with patients as well as colleagues when they have greater insight into their own responses and feelings,” said Deanna Tarnow, RN, BA, CPHRM, Director of Risk Management and Patient Safety at BETA. “With different perspectives and insights into the care process, teams will work together to challenge commonly held misperceptions, and discuss and debate care issues. The new ways of working and communicating put the patient experience at the center of all care decisions and dialogue.”
Recipients
Alameda Health System, Tahoe Forest Hospital and Torrance Memorial Medical Center have all met BETA’s patient and family centered care (PFCC) scholarship criteria, which includes senior management engagement and a dedicated leadership team to attend the training. Teams must complete a self-assessment inventory of their organization, develop and implement a proactive and transparent approach to disclosure of adverse events, form and maintain a Patient and Family Advisory Committee within one year of completing the training program and implement Schwartz Center Rounds. Each of the three facilities was awarded an $11,000 scholarship from BETA to cover tuition and travel for the Institute for Patient and Family Centered Care (IPFCC) Intensive Training Program. Each facility will also receive reimbursement for 50% of the Schwartz Center Rounds initiation fees provided rounds are implemented within six months of starting the patient family care journey.
Continued Journey to Better Outcomes—For All
Patient and family centered care (PFCC) is a key step in BETA’s ongoing efforts to work with its members and insureds to proactively address the occurrence of adverse events with an eye toward prevention. By recognizing patterns or areas in need of improvement in a thoughtful, systematic way, member facilities are able to mitigate care risks.
The PFCC scholarship is an important initial component of BETA’s overall pool of PFCC resources. Additional efforts to engage members in patient and family centered care include disclosure training provided by nationally known leaders at previous BETA conferences. BETA maintains an active lending library of resources available to assist members in developing a patient and family centered approach to care and an ethical approach to managing serious adverse events.
About BETA Healthcare Group
BETA Healthcare Group (BETA) is the largest insurer of hospital professional liability coverage in California, serving more than 150 hospitals and healthcare facilities. As the leading choice of liability insurers for California hospitals, BETA’s long-established commitment to California physicians continues to grow with more than 5,000 insured physicians and over 50 medical groups. Whether its hospitals, medical groups, clinics or hospices, BETA has earned a reputation for financial strength, rate stability, quality service and breadth of coverage that is unparalleled in the industry. For more information, please visit www.betahg.com.
Alameda Health System (AHS) is a major public health care provider and medical training institution recognized for its world-class patient and family centered system of care. Located in Oakland California, with additional sites throughout the East Bay, AHS includes Northern Alameda County’s highest level Trauma Center serving over 2,000 critically injured patients per year.
Tahoe Forest Hospital is a not for profit rural health care facility and designated Critical Access Hospital serving six rural counties, two states and approximately 3,500 square miles with primary services reaching the communities of Truckee, North Lake Tahoe, Donner Summit and the Sierra Valley in California and Incline Village in Nevada.
Torrance Memorial Medical Center
Torrance Memorial Medical Center is a locally governed, 401-bed, non-profit medical center whose purpose is to provide quality healthcare services, predominantly to the residents of the South Bay, Peninsula and Harbor communities of Los Angeles County.
