333 hospital and health system leaders. 107 organizations. 71 speakers. 25 sessions. 3 days.
1 mission: to champion excellence in health care for all.
VITAL2018, the annual meeting of America’s Essential Hospitals, brought hundreds of hospital and health system leaders to San Francisco June 20 to 22 to connect with colleagues, inspire innovation, and hone their leadership skills.
Here are six key takeaways:
1. Essential hospitals are “essential” because we do things no other hospitals do.
Whether it’s the response to the devastation of Hurricane Harvey by the University of Texas Medical Branch and Harris Health System or Parkland Health and Hospital System’s implementation of an information exchange platform between health care and social service providers, communities look to essential hospitals for more than routine hospital care.
“One of the biggest lessons learned from Harvey [was], when crisis hits, you’re no longer just a hospital, you’re the safest place,” said Alan Vierling, executive vice president and administrator of Harris Health’s Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital.
2. It takes a village, and we can all benefit when we learn from one another.
Learning from peers with similar challenges can spur innovation, promote collaboration, and transform care. Our VITAL2018 poster session featured more than 30 posters on patient navigation, clinician attitudes, self-efficacy toward behavioral patients, and other topics of interest to essential hospitals.
Our #VITAL2018 poster session is underway – so many posters from #essentialhospitals on display. Come take a look and get even more info to close out the day here in San Francisco! pic.twitter.com/ZukqPcR9Lj
— America’s Essential Hospitals (@OurHospitals) June 21, 2018
3. Difficult circumstances can catalyze learning and growth.
Essential hospitals regularly face challenging circumstances that can place a heavy toll on our workforce. One of our keynote speakers, Kelly McGonigal, PhD, taught us about the upside of stress and how “stress can make us stronger.”
.@kellymcgonigal says a lot of stress you face in life is not do it yourself, but do it together. The response requires ‘tend and befriend’ connections.
— America’s Essential Hospitals (@OurHospitals) June 20, 2018
4. The hospital offers a “reachable moment”—leadership requires that we understand people to ensure meaningful engagement and meaningful changes.
Leaders at Christiana Care Health System and Maricopa Integrated Health System said essential hospitals reach vulnerable populations by understanding the patient experience and empowering patients to be the “driver of their life.”
Janice Nevin, @christianacare CEO at #VITAL2018: Very often, there is an addiction issue that is underlying the illness that we see. When they are there, there is an opportunity to ask them if they [are willing to start treatment]…we call that a reachable moment.
— America’s Essential Hospitals (@OurHospitals) June 22, 2018
“It’s really about empowering the youth to be the driver of their life” says Vicki Staples from @MIHS_AZ at #VITAL2018 Critical Conversation on youth & psychosis. This #essentialhospital launched First Episode Center to provide early detection, acute care, & recovery services. pic.twitter.com/249QEFgGdB
— America’s Essential Hospitals (@OurHospitals) June 22, 2018
5. Big changes don’t have to cost a lot of money.
From our patients to our workforce, essential hospitals—like Erie County Medical Center and University Medical Center New Orleans—leverage existing resources and align programs to their mission and values to make a positive impact.
Great mini-session on transforming quality of care at #VITAL2018 w/ Karen Ziemianski from @ECMCBuffalo. This #essentialhospital increased patient experience by 843% (!) w/ frontline mindfulness – staff empowered to own these measures. Every meeting starts a patient letter. pic.twitter.com/L9pAe9qWkt
— America’s Essential Hospitals (@OurHospitals) June 21, 2018
Rebecca Schroll, MD, says 5 killed at Sandy Hook could’ve been saved if someone had been trained to stop their bleeding. #VITAL2018 mini-session on why her team at #essentialhospital @UMCNO adopted the Stop the Bleed – to train bystanders to respond & prevent deaths. pic.twitter.com/EMbCuN3yff
— America’s Essential Hospitals (@OurHospitals) June 21, 2018
6. Essential hospitals can move the field forward from awareness to action by putting research to practice.
One of our keynote speakers, pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris, taught us that early intervention can improve outcomes when we understand the science behind adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Essential hospital Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital serves as a pilot site for an ACEs screening tool.
“We can do this. We have the opportunity to change the way our nation responds to adverse childhood events and toxic stress,” Burke Harris said. “Health care professionals are leading voices and we have the ability to change the national conversation and to change our practice in how we deal with this as a nation.”
Don’t miss valuable insights like these and many others next year, at VITAL2019, June 19–21, in Miami. Our call for presentation and poster proposals opens Oct. 1.
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