The Connecticut Hospital Association honored Norwalk (Conn.) Hospital with the 2019 John D. Thompson Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Healthcare Through the Use of Data on June 20.
In 2012, Norwalk Hospital introduced a total joint replacement destination center of excellence to improve length of stay, discharge home and patient satisfaction.
In 2017, five years after the program was implemented, it achieved a 75th percentile ranking among 300 hospitals in length of stay, discharge home, readmissions, blood transfusions, distance walked and patient satisfaction.
Nicholas Polifroni, MD, medical director and orthopedic section chief at Norwalk Hospital, is a founding member of the joint replacement center and has been practicing orthopedics in the Norwalk region since 1982.
Dr. Polifroni provides his insight into the success of the program and outlines the hospital's future goals.
To participate in future Becker's Q&As, contact Alan Condon at acondon@beckershealthcare.com.
Question: How big of an impact did patient/caregiver education have on the success of the program?
Dr. Nicholas Polifroni: Since the implementation of the structured patient education preoperatively, in conjunction with our standardized joint program, we have seen fewer cancellations, fewer episodes of noncompliance with visits, exercises and physical therapy as well as many fewer misconceptions of the rehab process allowing the patients to be many steps ahead, literally, of our competitors' programs.
Q: What was the biggest challenge in improving patient satisfaction levels? How do you maintain such impressive performance levels going forward?
NP: The biggest challenge will be maintaining the multiple levels of care that our center delivers in the ever changing financial environment that healthcare faces today and in the future. We will continue to give the best experience possible because we have created a working environment that enables our providers to engage the patients in a comforting, caring and immensely positive fashion. Not only do the patients benefit, but the staff does as well. That drives the mantra we all follow at the Norwalk Hospital joint replacement center.
Q: After achieving this impressive feat, what goals does Norwalk Hospital hope to reach in orthopedics in the next five years?
NP: We would hope that by sharing our experience in organization and standardization, we could apply this model to other surgical procedures, both inpatient and outpatient, and improve the outcomes and satisfaction for those procedures to a higher level. Right now, close to 75 percent of all orthopedic surgeries are performed in an outpatient setting. In five years, that number will be closer to 85 to 90 percent.