Poster Presentation
Friday, July 13, 2007
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Friday, July 13, 2007
3:15 PM - 4:00 PM
Providing a Rapid Response When It's Needed Most- STAT
Verette A. Neeb, MSN, CNS, RN, CNA, Quality/Risk/Medical Staff/HIM, Bay Park Community Hospital, Oregon, OH, USA
| Learning Objective #1: identify key implementation strategies and ongoing "must haves" in creating and maintaining a successful Rapid Response Team. |
| Learning Objective #2: discuss how the Rapid Response Team has improved patient care outcomes in a community hospital setting. |
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement initiated the 100,000 Lives Campaign nationwide in order to significantly reduce morbidity and mortality rates. The formation of a Rapid Response Team (RRT) that is deployed at the first sign of a patient’s deterioration was one initiative the IHI recommended to assist in the reduction of these rates. Hospitals were strongly encouraged to form these teams to help decrease the time it took for a trained professional to respond when a call was made by the bedside caregiver of a change in patient condition. The goal was to decrease the delay time from for example three hours to three minutes with the help of trained response team members. The rapid response to the patient’s condition would prevent further deterioration, transfer to a higher level of care, and even death. The role of the Rapid Response Team becomes critical in a community hospital where resources may not be as readily available in a timely manner as in the larger acute care facilities.
BPCH wanted to make an improvement in responding to our patients’ needs in a timelier manner. We also wanted to provide additional assistance/resources to employees on the off shifts who are often less experienced. The Critical Care Medical Director at Bay Park Community Hospital (BPCH) agreed to be the champion of the RRT and set the direction and timeline to implement the team. The Critical Care Supervisor was the Team Coordinator and was charged with the development of the team, staff selection, policy and procedure development, staff education, and implementation if the team. The BPCH Rapid Response Team has made a significant difference in identifying patients and preventing further deterioration in their status. The top three reasons for activation of the RRT are hypoglycemia events, respiratory distress, and cardiac abnormalities.