Holland Hospital: Improving Pneumonia Care by Hardwiring Process Enhancements

Outlines successful strategies for improving care for pneumonia, including implementing core measure teams, concurrent reviews, financial incentives, a focus on system factors, preprinted order sets, and reassigning tasks. Presents lessons learned

St. Luke's Medical Center: Bottom-Up Approach to Quality Improvement in Pneumonia Care

Highlights strategies for improving pneumonia care, including frontline staff leadership, reassigning responsibilities, ongoing nursing staff education, and the use of evidence-based best practices, concurrent review, and streamlined standing order sets

Stranger Danger!

This article discusses the historical origins of the “stranger danger” myth, including the conditions that fueled the spread of panic. It explains how the myth was bolstered by increased media coverage, emotional appeals by parents, and public awareness campaigns. A number of important terms are defined and statistical information about child abductions in the United States is provided. Constructionist critiques of the “missing children” problem are explored as well as work that looks at the phenomenon through the lens of moral panic. A variety of social, legal, and ethical implications are discussed. The final sections assert the dangers of the myth, explain the difficulties involved in debunking the myth, and argue for the need to shift from fear-based responses to more rational responses that actually work to protect the most vulnerable populations of children (e.g., those who reside in abusive homes or experience harm at the hands of those known to them)

Western Baptist Hospital: Problem-Solving With Pneumonia Care Performance Improvement Teams

Describes successful strategies for strengthening pneumonia care, including multidisciplinary performance improvement teams, process improvements built into staff routines, peer collaboratives, standard order sets, and feedback through concurrent review

Texas Health Harris Methodist-Cleburne: A System Approach to Surgical Improvement

Outlines successful strategies for improving surgical care, including systemwide collaboration, concurrent review, changes to care processes, redefined responsibilities, and preprinted order sets. Lists challenges and lessons learned

Parkview Medical Center: Underscoring the Importance of Communication in Pneumonia Care

Highlights successful strategies for excellence in pneumonia care, including evidence-based education, regular communication, and reinforcement via concurrent review; reassigning vaccination responsibilities; and improving antibiotic selection and timing

Walla Walla General Hospital: Setting Staff Up for Success in Pneumonia Care

Outlines education and reinforcement strategies, including building a quality culture and implementing a hospitalist program, standardized order sets, and staff supports, that enable high performance on pneumonia care core measures. Lists lessons learned

Shared Care Dyadic Intervention: Outcome Patterns for Heart Failure Care Partners

Up to half of heart failure (HF) patients are readmitted to hospitals within 6 months of discharge. Many readmissions are linked to inadequate self-care or family support. To improve care, practitioners may need to intervene with both the HF patient and family caregiver. Despite the recognition that family interventions improve patient outcomes, there is a lack of evidence to support dyadic interventions in HF. Thus, the purpose of this study was to test the Shared Care Dyadic Intervention (SCDI) designed to improve self-care in HF. The theoretical base of the SCDI was a construct called Shared Care. Shared Care represents a system of processes used in family care to exchange support. Key findings were as follows: the SCDI was acceptable to both care partners and the data supported improved shared care for both. For the patient, there were improvements in self-care. For the caregivers, there were improvements in relationship quality and health