New Collaborative Focuses on Clinical Leadership

Release Date: 03.09.2009
Contact: rdeluna@uhfnyc.org
Contact Phone: 212-494-0733

In October, Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) and United Hospital Fund (UHF) announced the Clinical Quality Fellowship Program (CQFP) -- a regional first. Building upon the success of the GNYHA/UHF Collaborative model and other GNYHA quality and patient safety programs, the CQFP is designed to develop new clinical talent to lead quality improvement initiatives and prepare the next generation of quality leaders.

The CQFP is a yearlong intensive learning experience that develops quality leadership competencies and advances patient safety through a dynamic, structured learning collaborative. Fellows have the opportunity to network with GNYHA members' physician and nursing leadership who serve as faculty and program mentors, other fellows selected for the program, and national leaders in quality and patient safety.

Program Structure

The first class of participants are early to mid-career physicians who have demonstrated leadership skills and interest in quality and patient safety, and can communicate effectively across disciplines. Future classes will include exceptional nursing and pharmacist candidates.

The CQFP is a combination of retreat-style sessions (two sets of two-day sessions), a one-day seminar, bi-weekly conference calls, and ad hoc meetings or conference calls with mentors. Upon completion of the program, participants will be invited to present their final quality improvement projects at a quality summit to be hosted by GNYHA and UHF.

Program Launch and Highlights

GNYHA and UHF launched the CQFP with a two-day seminar beginning on January 15, 2009. A highlight of the January launch was the evening workshop "Friday Night in the ED," a game that challenged teams to meet the demands of a health care system that is constrained by space, staffing, and sheer volume of patients. Using real-life scenarios, the game demonstrated the daily challenges of communication, teamwork, silo approaches to care, and the overwhelming pace at which multiple decisions have to be made. The lessons the teams learned from the game will be woven throughout the CQFP to provide continuous insight to fellows on how systems can be improved and redesigned.

The CQFP will provide the framework to help physicians make rapid and sustainable changes by engaging their colleagues, building teams, promoting system and individual responsibility, and providing them the knowledge and tools to support the hospital's quality and patient safety agenda. Please contact Terri Straub at GNYHA or Sean Cavanaugh at UHF for more information about this program.

The first class of CQFP fellows, announced in December, includes: Dr. Sarah Berry, NYU Langone Medical Center
Dr. Bruce Darrow, Mount Sinai Medical Center
Dr. Ruchika Harisingani, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Medical Center
Dr. Joanne Hojsak, Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital
Dr. Daniel Horton, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital
Dr. Steven Kaplan, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
Dr. Stavros Lazarou, North Bronx Healthcare Network
Dr. Eric Maniago, Staten Island University Hospital
Dr. Toni McLaurin, NYU Langone Medical Center
Dr. Pranav Mehta, Metropolitan Hospital Center
Dr. Suhas Nafday, Children's Hospital at Montefi ore, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Dr. Manish Parikh, NYU Langone Medical Center/Bellevue Hospital
Dr. Lucy Pereira-Argenziano, Schneider Children's Hospital
Dr. Calie Santana, Montefiore Medical Center
Dr. Bradley Sherman, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Glen Cove Hospital
Dr. David Tompkins, Lutheran Medical Center

This article was reprinted courtesy of Quality Collaborative. If you would like to receive free issues of Quality Collaborative, a quarterly e-newsletter for the GNYHA/UHF partnership to improve hospital quality and patient safety, please send your request with your e-mail address to quality_collaborative@gnyha.org.