MRMC Awarded for Patient Safety.

March, 2011 — Every day, the staff of Moberly Regional Medical Center keeps track of important patient information in order to tailor medical care to fit the needs of that patient. Whether it’s recording their medical history or charting their vitals—each step is taken to improve the care provided to patients. However, with Moberly Regional Medical Center—the focus doesn’t stop there. This hospital has taken additional strategic steps to ensure that the care provided is through the safest and most efficient processes possible. Specifically, their extraordinary commitment to fighting pressure ulcers and their dedication to improving medication reconciliation has landed them as a recipient of a Primaris recognition trophy celebrating their success.

Primaris—Missouri’s Quality Improvement Organization—partnered with Moberly Regional Medical Center and assisted them on two fronts—preventing pressure ulcers and improving the medication reconciliation process at their hospital. Their tailored approach significantly impacted patient safety and improved the quality of care for patients.

Moberly Regional Medical Center used a variety of quality improvement methods to determine areas for improvement, developed and implemented strategic tactics to address these areas, and utilized best practice methodology to make dramatic improvements on both focus areas. They received on-site consultations, evidence-based tools, and technical assistance which also contributed to their success.

We take quality improvement seriously. These measures aren’t just numbers. They represent real people that come through our front door needing our help."

"By keeping an eye on these measures, we can celebrate our successes or, when we see a drop, we can work to address it. It keeps us on our toes and it keeps our patients healthy,” said Jennifer Dunkin, MRMC’s Quality Director. “One of the strategies implemented to make improvements included an increase of pharmacy staff involvement in confirming a patient’s home medication lists. This helped tremendously with patients’ medication reconciliation.”

By participating in system-wide efforts with Primaris to standardize quality of care processes, Moberly Regional Medical Center was able to make strides of improvement and ultimately benefit the lives of Missouri patients.

For more information about how Moberly Regional Medical Center improves the care provided to its patients, please contact Jennifer Dunkin, QRMC at 660-269-2949.