Joint Statement Doctors Council SEIU and NYC H+H System Wide Collaboration Council June 22, 2016

A very well attended meeting of our System Wide Collaboration Council (SWCC) convened on June 22nd at Gouverneur Medical Center.  This meeting marks the completion of the first round of SWCC meetings which have occurred monthly since November, 2015.  Going forward, the SWCC will meet quarterly, consistent with the Memorandum of Agreement between the parties which sets forth the terms and conditions for the operation of the SWCC.

Our Facility Based Collaboration Councils (FBCCs) will continue to meet monthly.  The SWCC has set forth the guidance for our FBCCs, and senior Doctors Council SEIU and NYC H + H leaders will continue to sponsor, support, and monitor the work of the FBCC’s.

It is very clear that our work is paying off…all across the system we are making substantive progress on what we set out to do:  we have created a new and energized environment in all NYC H + H facilities where the voice and experience of our frontline clinicians are fully engaged with their executive colleagues to establish improvement initiatives jointly.  We have agreed that this is the very best way to create the culture change necessary to improve the experience of patients and the engagement and satisfaction of our clinicians.

Evidence of this progress was expressed at our meeting on June 22nd:

Metropolitan Hospital progress was reported in a presentation by Drs. Ali Mousavi (speaking at podium) & John Degliuomini (left at podium).

Based on a careful review of  Press Ganey datawhich indicated low patient response rates and poor satisfaction in the Ambulatory care setting, their FBCC developed the following AIM statement for their project: By September 15, 2016 we intend to demonstrate a statistically significant increase in patient satisfaction in the Ambulatory care clinics (APC and GYN) utilizing a communication model for primary point of care providers.

Elmhurst Hospital progress was reported by Dr. Jasmine Dave (at podium) and Mr. Wayne Zimmermann (behind podium).

The FBCC used IHI (Institute for Health Improvement) “brainstorming tools” known as Divergent/Convergent thinking, and decided on a project with the following AIM statement: By July 25th, to have in place a patient navigator in the GYN clinic to serve as a resource to patients while they are waiting to see their provider. The navigator will interact with a minimum 40% of the patients per clinic and we hope to improve patient communication by 10%.

From small group discussions among combined FBCC’s, it is clear that nearly all of our FBCCs have their initial projects up and running. Others are getting ready to finalize AIM statements and their first PDSA cycles.  Projects tend to be focused on reducing patient waiting time in the clinic and improved measureable communications regarding health literacy and effectiveness of patient/clinician interactions that reflect improved outcomes specific to the type of clinic and type of care provided.

Various H + H SWCC Facility Representatives meeting in small group discussions.

Important improvement project principles are being learned, discussed and implemented across the System:

•  To keep our initial projects relatively small and discreet so that we can learn from “quick wins” and spread what we learn;
• To keep our initial projects within a scope that the clinicians can best control;
• That the role of the FBCCs is to develop initial projects in conjunction with clinicians in  one or more of the units/clinics/departments in their facility, and to sponsor, monitor progress, provide needed resources, and eliminate barriers for successful projects;
• To look ahead to whole systems change, but raise expectations carefully based on the principle that our joint  problem-solving efforts will create the “ripples in the ocean” that will guide the journey; and
• To recognize that low clinician engagement is real and to promote dialogue and problem-solving that addresses it, keeping the patient at the center of our improvement efforts.

Dr. Rob Caldwell, SWCC member from Gouverneur, in discussion during Q & A session

Great appreciation was expressed to the SWCC & FBCCs members by Dr. Machelle Allen for their hard work. She urged them to maintain focus on the importance of communication and sharing information.

Dr. Frank Proscia addressed the Council and indicated that Doctors Council SEIU is working closely with NYC H+H on enhanced Safety Net legislation that was passed in Albany and awaiting the Governor to sign off on it.  The parties continue to work through Radiology issues across the system. Dr. Proscia also commended the EPIC Go Live with onsite support by Doctors Council at Elmhurst/Queens and upcoming at Jacobi/NCB.

Collaboration Council members will have further IHI training through webinars in the upcoming months.

NYC Health + Hospitals and Doctors Council Collaboration Council members of the SWCCs and FBCCs are having a very special combined meeting on Tuesday, August 2nd at 2 pm at Baruch College. We formed the Collaboration Councils to benefit our patients and the communities we serve. Our effort is an exciting and unique joint labor-management partnership, to improve quality care and the patient experience through frontline doctor engagement across the health system and at each hospital and facility. This meeting will enable us to renew why we came together in the Collaboration Councils. At this meeting we will convey current information on what is occurring at H+H and our strategy going forward.  Most importantly, we will hear from each facility about their projects to improve the patient experience where we work. This will be a stimulating and informative learning opportunity. It will also be one of team building and socializing.

Working together we can ensure the continued success of our missions, to provide quality care for all regardless of ability to pay or country of origin.