The YHC strives to reach our goals of: Providing Safe Comprehensive Patient Care, Building a Stable and Skilled Workforce, Achieving Financial Stability, Becoming a High-Performing Organization, Establishing a Modern and Efficient Infrastructure and Developing a Network of Effective Working Partnerships. To help us meet these goals, we have developed an IQM that is derived from our mission, vision, values and strategic goals. We believe in Quality Management as an on going process that must be a primary function of every employee, service area and committee.
What is Integrated Quality Management?
“A planned, systematic approach to the monitoring, analysis, and correction and improvement of performance, which increases the likelihood of desired outcomes by continuously improving the quality of care and services provided.” (National Association of Healthcare Quality).
A good Integrated Quality Management system has the following characteristics:
- It is deliberate and well-planned
- It is based on systematically acquired information/evidence
- It analyzes information/evidence from multiple sources to identify problems and their causes
- It relies on the knowledge and input of many sources and people
- It fixes problems that arise, and checks to make sure that selected solutions worked
- It pursues continuous quality improvement through well-planned and structured quality improvement efforts
The YHC IQM is driven by direction from the Board of Trustees, regulatory bodies, federal and territorial legislation, collective bargaining agreements, community needs and Accreditation Canada requirements. It is our objective to meet and exceed expectations by continuously improving patient care, programs, services, buildings, learning and workforce experiences and has our 6 strategic goals as outcomes. At the core of this model is the patient, the patient’s family, our staff, partners, volunteers and visitors.
The IQM is driven by a constant process of Integrating, Anticipating, Directing, Measuring, Sharing, Learning and Constantly Improving. We are in the process of developing support mechanisms around the model to ensure we imbed IQM within the YHC. Currently, we use existing forums such as: Board Meetings, The Medical Advisory Committee, Senior Management Meetings, Operations and Issues Team Meetings, Divisional Team Meetings and Department Head Meetings to drive the YHC quality agenda. We are working towards establishing a Quality Management Council at both a leadership and Board of Trustee level and expect these forums to be implemented by spring of 2011.
The YHC Integrated Quality Management Model identifies six key elements:
