The Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) has recognized Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt with a Pediatric Quality Award.
Pediatric Quality Awards honor successful improvement initiatives that children’s hospitals of every size can replicate to improve care.
Out of 110 entries from 60 CHA members, a panel of peers and international health care experts selected 13 projects as semifinalists and winners in four categories. CHA honored the winners at this year’s Quality and Safety in Children’s Health Conference in San Diego.
Children’s Hospital received the Specialty Care Award for its Code Yellow initiative, which was created to ensure that febrile neutropenia patients (those having a fever and an abnormally low white blood cell count) receive antibiotics within 60 minutes of their arrival to either the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic or the Children’s Hospital Emergency Room.
“Oncology patients with febrile neutropenia are especially vulnerable, and it is vital that they receive antibiotics as quickly as possible,” said Meg Rush, M.D., Chief of Staff and Executive Medical Director of Children’s Hospital. “We are honored to be recognized by CHA for the exceptional work of our Code Yellow Team, who analyzed current processes and identified barriers to these patients receiving antibiotics. They developed a communication and standardized treatment plan to ensure rapid delivery of medication. As a result of their efforts, there has been a significant and sustained increase in the administration of antibiotics to these patients within one hour of their arrival.”
The Code Yellow Team also received VUMC’s Elevate Team Award in 2016, which recognizes efforts by two of more people to improve a process, solve a problem or advance organizational culture.
“We are proud that this team’s dedication to problem solving has been recognized internally by peers and now nationally by leading experts,” said Children’s Hospital CEO Luke Gregory. “It affirms that Children’s Hospital’s clinical teams are continuously focused on best practice.”
