May 13, 2003
HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER CELEBRATES A YEAR OF PURSUING PERFECTION
Hackensack University Medical Center will hold a community forum to discuss the progress it has made under the Pursuing Perfection: Raising the Bar for Health Care Performance initiative. The informative evening, “A Year of Progress,” will be held on Wednesday, June 4 from 6 to 8 p.m. in The Palm Court, located in the Hackensack University Medical Plaza, 20 Prospect Avenue, Hackensack.

In April 2002, the medical center was one of seven healthcare organizations from across the country chosen to receive a $1.9 million grant as part of the second phase of a groundbreaking initiative, “Pursuing Perfection: Raising the Bar for Health Care Performance.” The $20.9 million initiative is a program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and is administered by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

The initiative was created after The Institute of Medicine, a nonprofit institution that provides health policy advice under a congressional charter, published two reports about the need to develop a strategy for improving the quality of healthcare in America. Information in these reports was used as the framework for the project and identified six areas of focus as a guide to overall strategic goals. The six areas are safety, effectiveness, patient-centered care, timeliness, efficiency, and equity. 

Hackensack University Medical Center has incorporated the six goals into its Pursuing Perfection programs. The programs include several areas of care: heart failure treatment, anticoagulation safety, geriatric care, heart attack treatment and follow-up care, stroke treatment and rehabilitation, preventive medicine, dialysis management, pneumonia treatment, medication safety, cardiac surgery: personalized aftercare instructions, diabetes and others. 

“The areas of care the medical center has chosen are important healthcare issues in our society,” said Peter A. Gross, M.D., chairman, Department of Internal Medicine 
and grant project leader at Hackensack University Medical Center. “Our ability to truly improve quality and performance will succeed based on our ability to share what we learn not only with each other and our patients, but with other institutions as well.”

“A Year of Progress” will highlight the programs undertaken as part of the initiative and give patients and the community an opportunity to discuss how they benefit from the project. 

“We are excited to be hosting a public forum concerning this project,” said Dr. Gross. “Involving the patients and members of the community who directly benefit from our services, ensures we design effective processes as we continue to improve healthcare.”

Admission to this event is free and light refreshments will be served. Reservations are required. For more information or to reserve a seat at “A Year of Progress,” contact Hackensack University Medical Center’s Public Relations Department at (201) 996-3760. 

For more information about the Pursuing Perfection: Raising the Bar for Health Care Performance visit the website at: www.humc.com/pursuingperfection.
 

 

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