Making sure fewer people leave the emergency room unseen. Helping more patients safely take their oral medications at home. Reducing by 20 percent the rate of a serious condition that can follow the administration of glucose IV solution.
These are some of the outcomes of capstone projects carried out by recent graduates of the UHF-GNYHA Clinical Quality Fellowship Program (CQFP). The 29 mid-career health professionals that made up the 13th class of the CQFP graduated at UHF offices on June 8, completing 15 months of training to prepare them to become the New York area’s next health care quality leaders.
The fellowship program, sponsored jointly by UHF and the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA), supports the training and professional development of early- and mid-career doctors, nurses, and physician assistants to help them lead and champion quality improvement and patient safety efforts within their health care organizations.
Welcoming the graduates were Oxiris Barbot, MD, UHF’s president and CEO; CQFP chair Rohit Bhalla, MD, senior vice president of clinical affairs and quality and chief clinical and quality officer at Stamford Health; and Lorraine Ryan, Esq., senior advisor, regulatory affairs and quality initiatives at the GNYHA.
“We hope that you have all found the program to be both enriching and enjoyable and the tools that you learned here will serve you well as you continue to make positive changes in your organizations and communities,” Dr. Barbot told the graduates. “We also hope that, as you progress in your careers, you will draw not only upon the principles of quality improvement and leadership that you have learned, but also the relationships that you have developed with the other fellows, faculty, and your mentors.”
After congratulating the graduates, Dr. Bhalla noted that the program has evolved into a unique and dynamic force for health care quality improvement across the New York City region. “You have become change agents that are highly trusted,” he told the graduates. “You are and will be the face of health care leadership in the future.”
Noting the CQFP’s aim of nurturing the next generation of quality improvement leaders, Ms. Ryan told the attendees: “That has certainly come to fruition—the evidence is in this room.”
Since its launch in 2009, CQFP has trained close to 300 Fellows, drawing from more than 50 hospitals and other health care facilities across the metropolitan area. Many have gone on to assume leadership positions in their home facilities, while alumni serve as mentors to new classes of Fellows.
The graduating 2022-2023 class of 29 Fellows, chosen from some 60 applicants, included 20 doctors, seven nurse professionals, and two physician assistants from 29 health care organizations.
“The CQFP has given me the courage and knowledge to strive for excellence in the health care setting,” said graduate Jenna Blind, DNP, RN, CPHQ, of NYU Langone/Long Island, who presented her capstone project at the June 8 ceremony. “It’s an opportunity to learn in an environment where your ideas are heard and your voice is heard.”
The centerpiece of the fellowship is a capstone quality improvement project, created and implemented by each Fellow at their home organization. Three capstone projects were highlighted at the graduation ceremony:
- Erwin Wang, MD, MHA – NYU Langone/Brooklyn
- “Reducing the rate of iatrogenic hypoglycemia of admitted patients at an academic teaching hospital” (a severe and potentially fatal condition that can follow administration of glucose IV solution)
- Shellyann Sharpe, MD – NYC H+H/North Central Bronx Hospital
- “Reduction of the ‘Left Without Being Seen’ Percentage in the Emergency Department”
- Jenna Blind, DNP, RN, CPHQ – NYU Langone/Long Island
- “A three-pronged approach to managing oral medications in the home care setting”
“These change agents are a very engaged and informed group who, despite the stress and strain they’ve been under during the pandemic, remained focused on what they could do to improve quality at their institutions,” said Joan Guzik, UHF director, Quality and Efficiency, Quality Institute.