Our CEO Focuses on Quality
Why is ProMedica’s president and chief executive officer choosing to focus on quality? That’s what Inside recently asked Randy Oostra, DM, FACHE. As we all know, quality is important to the success of most businesses, but Randy shared with us some of the less obvious reasons why he’s focusing on quality … and why you should be, too.
“Quality is a basic principle of health care,” explains Randy. “People count on hospitals and health care providers to do everything in their power to protect the health of their patients. They expect to receive safe, effective treatment whenever they’re in our care.”
Recently, health care consumers have rightfully demanded more access than ever to information about quality,” Randy continues. “They want to be assured they’re going to receive excellent care when they choose a hospital for treatment.”
As of January 2010, the Ohio Department of Health makes it easy for health care consumers to compare quality ratings among hospitals on the Ohio Hospital Compare web site. The online quality ratings help consumers compare measures of care specific to certain conditions, treatments and procedures, as well as how safe the hospital is and what patients thought of the care they received.
“In addition to public reporting, quality of care measures can also be linked to reimbursement from insurance companies and Medicare/Medicaid for certain services,” says Randy. “All of this factors into the effect our performance has on the future of our health care system and why we need to always be aware of how we’re rating.
“Transparency in quality of care isn’t new to ProMedica, though. We aim to continually improve patient-desired outcomes for all quality measures,” Randy continues. “Consumers can view quality information on our own web site, and employees should be looking at this information, too.”
In last month’s Inside, ProMedica Clinical Outcomes & Resource Management (CORM) shared links to their public “Quality Reports” section of www.promedica.org and employee “CORM (Corporate Quality)” department page on myProMedica (http://my.promedica.org). Visit the Inside Archive, select February 2010, and scroll down to “ProMedica’s Quality of Care Compared to National Averages” for the full story.
“Quality is everyone’s job at ProMedica. It’s part of the Mission and Values that define us,” states Randy. “The value of Excellence, or superior performance and outcomes, clearly states this. But read on and you’ll see that all of our values are tied to the quality of care we provide to our patients and the community.
“A positive clinical outcome is the patient’s expectation,” Randy explains. “We have to go above and beyond that to make each patient’s experience with us a truly good one. That’s what makes ProMedica a place that patients will come back to repeatedly and recommend to their family and friends.”
How does Randy suggest we do this? “We should all strive to give the type of customer service we would want to receive as consumers,” says Randy. “Even if we’re not involved in direct patient care, how each one of us performs our job affects the image we project as an organization and the overall effectiveness of the system.
“When we see opportunities for improvement, we can take the appropriate action to make change,” Randy continues. “There are more opportunities than ever to do this, including the Got Ideas? Employee Involvement Program. Take part in department initiatives to improve quality, and share constructive feedback with your supervisor.”
Randy leaves us on a positive note about celebrating our quality accomplishments. “We can also give ourselves credit for the many things we’re doing well,” Randy notes. “We can all be advocates for ProMedica in our community. Don’t be shy about letting your friends and neighbors know why you’re proud to work here.”
Randy encourages you to contact him directly with your questions at randy.oostra@promedica.org. Answers will be included in upcoming Inside issues.
Editor’s Note: If you have suggestions for relevant topics you would like to see Randy address in future issues of Inside, please send them to inside@promedica.org. We value your input.
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