For the second year in a row, Long Beach Memorial and Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach were selected as winners of the 2012 American Excess Insurance Exchange (AEIX) Risk Management Award. The hospitals will receive a $10,000 grant for reducing liability and improving the safety and well being of patients being treated in hospitals.
The award was given to Dr. Peggy Kalowes, Director, Nursing Research, Evidence Based Practice and Advanced Practice Nursing at Long Beach Memorial and Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach for her work in a clinical research trial that tested the use of a Silicone Foam Sacrum Border Dressing (Mepilex) to prevent pressure ulcers in high-risk patients. The research findings showed a significant reduction in pressure ulcers in patients who received the dressing during the trial. MemorialCare has now adopted the use of the Mepilex sacrum dressing, thus we hope to significantly prevent hospital acquired pressure ulcers and to educate patients and families about strategies for prevention of pressure ulcers at home following discharge.
Pressure ulcers occur from pressure, friction and shear against an area of skin in patients who are bed or wheelchair confined, including those who are acutely ill or elderly.
“We’re incredibly honored to receive this prestigious grant for a second year in a row and hope to help develop a comprehensive patient and family education program that aids families in preventing pressure ulcers,” said Kalowes. “One important point in our findings is that there is an enormous education gap with patients that didn’t know there were practical and important steps they could take to help prevent this complication.”
This award marks the second consecutive AEIX Risk Management Grant that Kalowes has received from AEIX. Last year, she was awarded $5,000 for her work on an innovative patient program that helped elderly patients reduce their risk of suffering a debilitating fall.
Ninety-eight hospitals and associated entities within AEIX, an excess liability risk retention group managed by Premier Insurance Management Services, were eligible to apply for the award. Twenty-two institutions applied for the grant, of which, only six were selected as award winners. Long Beach Memorial and Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach were the only representatives from California.
“Long Beach Memorial is consistently improving our methods to reduce cost and demonstrate enhanced safety for all of our patients,” said Diana Hendel, CEO of Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach and Community Hospital Long Beach. “Over the past two years, we’ve been leading the charge in developing these new practices, and our patients can expect to see these cutting-edge techniques to be replicated across ours, and other health systems to improve the quality of care for all.”
For more information on the 2012 AEIX Risk Management Awards with the complete list of winners click here.