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High Quality Patient Care is our Foremost Priority
- The foremost priority of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center is to provide the highest quality care to our young patients.
This past year has been a challenging time for the hospital and its medical staff, all of whom are fully dedicated to
CCMC’s patient care mission.
- I want to assure you that this organization takes any case in which the patient outcome does not meet our own
high standards very seriously. In addition to extending our sympathy to the families involved, we have taken this
opportunity to look deeply into ourselves to understand how we can prevent similar issues from happening again in
the future.
- Our goal is to create a hospital in which the opportunity for human errors in minimized by strong and appropriate
use of support systems, training, technology and staffing.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- Is Connecticut Children’s Medical Center a safe place for my child to receive care?
- What has CCMC done to respond to the concerns about patient care that have been raised in the past year?
- Does CCMC still have a valid license from the Department of Public Health?
- If my child has a health care emergency, how
can I be assured that the Emergency Department is equipped
to respond quickly and effectively?
- Who is responsible for oversight of the
Emergency Department?
- Is the Emergency Department able to handle
trauma cases?
- Is the CCMC building safe and secure?
- What policies are in place to ensure that
patient rooms are accessible only to staff and appropriate
visitors?
- Is the hospital overall appropriately staffed
to ensure the best possible case?
- What are you doing to improve communications
between the various personnel responsible for the vulnerable
young children in your care?
- Are the medical students/residents who are
working at CCMC appropriately supervised? Who is ultimately responsible for patient outcomes when a resident is involved in the care?
- How can patients and their families be certain
that all of these changes are actually being carried out in
an appropriate fashion?
- Do you have the financial resources to
support all of these efforts?
1. Is Connecticut Children’s Medical Center a safe place for my child to receive care?
YES.
Every day, parents throughout the region put their children’s lives in our hands. Connecticut Children’s
Medical Center takes very seriously the great trust our patients put in us and we are confident that our dedicated
and talented team of medical professionals offer safe, high quality care as the region’s only hospital
dedicated exclusively to children.
Our team constantly evaluates the quality of the care and services we provide. If something goes wrong, it is
our practice to understand why. We are committed to asking the question: .What can we learn from this experience
that will help us provide the best possible care and maintain the trust of the families we serve?
2. What has CCMC done to respond to the concerns about patient care that have been raised in the past year?
CCMC's leadership has taken a number of significant steps to help the hospital move forward; in particular
an oversight committee of board members, community leaders and outside health care experts was convened to
review our patient care practices and recommend improvements.
As part of this process, we have taken a number of significant steps in key areas:
- Sterling Healthcare Initiatives, a nationally respected emergency health consultancy, has been on board since
October 1 reviewing systems of care, staffing levels and other issues critical to patient care.
- Some innovative redesign ideas are being reviewed that will improve the triage and treatment of children in a
more timely manner in the Emergency Department.
- A national search is underway for ED medical director and candidates have been identified for additional ED
physicians.
- Created a new standard of supervision for resident physicians to ensure accountability and clear, consistent
communication between trainees and their supervisors.
- Security systems have been reviewed by experts from Kroll, an international security consultant. Their report
indicates that CCMC has a strong security system in place, and has recommended some additional technology to
improve access control and supervision.
- Dr. Fernando Ferrer, a well respected member of the CCMC surgical team, has been appointed as the new surgeon
in chief
3. Does CCMC still have a valid license from the Department of Public Health?
Our license remains in place and we are working closely with the DPH to exceed their expectations for the
quality of care we provide.
4. If my child has a health care emergency, how can I be assured that the Emergency Department is equipped
to respond quickly and effectively?
CCMC provides the only dedicated pediatric Emergency Department in the region and cares for 44,000 patients annually.
Our team is highly talented and dedicated to caring for some of the most challenging patients.
Working closely with consultants from Sterling Healthcare Initiatives, experts in Emergency Department management –
we are revamping systems in the emergency department, including a review of triage and all emergency department systems
and staffing, and the interface between the emergency department and radiology and other hospital departments. Changes
have already begun and we anticipate that this effort will significantly strengthen our Emergency Department.
5. Who is responsible for oversight of the Emergency Department?
We are currently conducting a national search for a new Chief of Emergency Medicine. In the interim Sterling
Healthcare Initiatives, experts in Emergency Department management, are providing physician leadership and consultation,
reporting to the Executive Management Team. Their recommendations for improvements are reported to the Oversight Committee
of the board.
6. Is the Emergency Department able to handle trauma cases?
Children needing trauma care are directed to Hartford Hospital, a designated trauma center. CCMC provides emergency
surgical, physician, nursing and respiratory therapy support to these cases.
7. Is the CCMC building safe and secure?
We engaged an internationally known security consultant, Kroll, to review our security systems. They reported
favorably on the security access systems we now have in place. They suggested further upgrades which we are already
installing to further control access and exit from the building.
In addition, a mid cycle review visit by JCAHO, a national healthcare oversight organization, said we had the safest
security system the reviewer had seen.
8. What policies are in place to ensure that patient rooms are accessible only to staff and appropriate visitors?
On inpatient floors further access controls are in place to limit visits to the floor unless the visitor has
signed in at the front desk, can be buzzed in through an electronic door. A staff person also monitors access to
the inpatient unit. We educate families and visitors on policies that protect the privacy and safety of each child
in our care.
9. Is the hospital overall appropriately staffed to ensure the best possible case?
Yes, at CCMC we meet or exceed national standards for staffing levels per number of patients. We constantly
evaluate staffing to ensure that it is appropriate to respond to the needs of our patients. Since our founding,
we have significantly increased the number of staff to respond to growing demand for our services.
10. What are you doing to improve communications between the various personnel responsible for the vulnerable young children in your care?
We recognize that communication among and between the various personnel responsible for patient care, particularly for complex cases, is critical to a positive outcome. We are systematically reviewing all communications as part of our ongoing effort to improve the quality of care. This review includes the emergency department, operating rooms, pediatric intensive care unit, neonatal intensive care unit and radiology, among other departments.
A new position of Vice President for Quality and Patient Safety under the direction of Dr. Robert Englander is responsible for improvements to coordination and communication among departments and personnel.
11. Are the medical students/residents who are working at CCMC appropriately supervised? Who is ultimately responsible for patient outcomes when a resident is involved in the care?
CCMC has been particularly innovative in this area and implemented one of the strongest residency oversight policies in the country. Before a trainee comes to CCMC for a rotation, the sending hospital must forward credentials that list what procedures that trainee may perform without supervision. A computerized data base has been established that lists each trainee’s approved procedures. Nursing and medical staff have access to this list and can review it at any time. The system holds supervising faculty accountable for the actions of the resident trainees under them.
12. How can patients and their families be certain that all of these changes are actually being carried out in an appropriate fashion?
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center takes very seriously the great trust our patients put in us to provide safe, high quality care. To that end, we have developed a comprehensive action plan and every person at CCMC – the Board and administrative leadership, the medical staff and patient care staff are committed to the success of this plan. The Oversight Committee of the board of directors is monitoring our progress and will recommend changes immediately if the plan is not being effectively implemented.
13. Do you have the financial resources to support all of these efforts?
The board of directors has committed the resources to carrying out all initiatives that improve patient safety and the quality of care we provide.
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