Quality Improvement (QI) is part of the DNA of Niagara Health, woven into each of our sites, and into the hearts and minds of our staff, physicians and volunteers.
Our Integrated Quality and Safety Framework (IQSF) is Niagara Health’s declaration and signal to our community of our organization’s unwavering commitment to excellence in the reduction of harm, advancement of high quality safe care and that partnership with patients and families will occur in every interaction of care and how we create our programs.
What is an Integrated Quality and Safety Framework?
The IQSF is a ‘living’ document that aligns, integrates and ensures meaningful focus on what matters most in quality and safety. It is best practice. The plan is aimed to help the organization stay focused on its commitments, while keeping an eye on external issues that may have an impact on care. The framework guides, directs and supports the continuous and measurable improvements of quality and safety at Niagara Health.
How did we engage
NH had an existing quality framework that we refreshed and reached out to various sources to confirm our approach, while building on our strengths. We wanted to ensure that some key guiding principles were in place and that the voices of our staff and community were reflected in the process.
Our framework was developed with extensive and broad consultation of patients, families, staff, volunteers and physicians where over 1000 voices were capture to help us understand what quality meant to users and providers, strengthen our foundation and creatively focus our efforts to advance care.
What we heard
The voices of our staff, physicians, patients and families were quite aligned in what mattered most, and what defined a quality care and safe experience. Similar to what has been identified as best practice in the literature, across the organization we expressed that client-centred care, using resources effectively and providing timely access were the key elements of a quality care experience. Our patients and families echoed this mattered to them, and our staff also indicated it was important to ensuring quality outcomes.
When will we be successful?
Success will be seen, felt, heard and known in the eyes of our patients & families
Success will be understood by everyone through our client experience surveys, our compliments process and day-to-day therapeutic relationships
Success will be experience and felt by staff and physicians as they continue to provide their exceptional care while feeling safe, respected and acknowledged for their expertise
Success will be experienced by the community and NH as we evolve the way we partner with our patients and families
Success will be experienced by the community and NH in seeing our IQSF evolve year over year.
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Extraordinary Caring. Every Person. Every Time.
