Following its call for proposals for innovation in the delivery of patient care, the Vanderbilt Medical Group Patient Care Innovation Committee has awarded seed grants for three projects. A different committee member was appointed to help oversee each project.
o Kimbra Wilder, a coordinator of the clinical informatics consult service at Eskind Biomedical Library, was awarded $7,000 for development of a program to provide education resources for patients. Eskind Biomedical Library has been building a collection for patients and families; using a simple patient education prescription form, Wilder¹s project will help librarians work as partners with doctors and their clinical teams to provide patients with understandable information tailored to their personal situation.
The project, which is currently being piloted in selected clinical areas, includes evaluating patient satisfaction regarding this new service. Dawn Williams, coordinator of patient information at Eskind, will guide the Eskind team in implementation of the project. Dr. Tom A. Hazinsky of the VMG Patient Care Innovation Committee will help oversee the project. For more information, call Kimbra Wilder at 936-3459 or Dawn Williams 936-1417.
o Dr. Timothy L. Van Natta, instructor of surgery, and Pam Davis, a trauma case manager, were awarded $7,670 to begin developing tools and processes to upgrade trauma patient and family education. Their proposal outlines a multimedia approach to patient education, as well as patient follow-up calls at 24 to 48 hours post discharge.
The main emphasis during the pilot will be closed-head injuries and spinal chord injuries. Dr. Robert S. Dittus of the VMG Patient Care Innovation Committee will help oversee the project.
o The admitting department was given $732 to establish a post-autopsy notification system for families. The department¹s bereavement liaisons will monitor the patient records system to learn when autopsy results become available, then they¹ll arrange for the family to receive an explanation of the autopsy results from an attending physician. Doris Quinn of the VMG Patient Care Innovation Committee will help oversee the project.
For more information about the VMG Patient Care Innovation Committee, contact Roxane Spitzer, Ph.D., at 343-6074.