Relationship and Results Oriented Healthcare is the Foundation for Patient Safety

    PORT LUDLOW, WA, January 08, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Port Ludlow, WA - Hansten Healthcare PLLC, a healthcare firm dedicated to transforming organizations through relationship enhancement and skill development, today announced a new program of best practices that includes proven methods of maximizing patient safety in hospitals.

It's no secret that hospitals are facing increasingly challenging economic times. They must take action to improve their economic viability as they also strive to provide the best possible care to patients. With all of the demands placed upon them, however, patient safety can sometimes lose its priority.

Hansten Healthcare's Relationship and Results Oriented Healthcare (RROHC ) program is designed to complement patient safety initiatives to ensure that hospitals consistently provide patient-centered care. Safe patient care is dependent on mutual trust, teamwork, and a collaborative work environment among caregivers. The RROHC (pronounced "rock") program helps hospitals implement best practices, deliver relationship-centered and results-oriented healthcare, reduce medical errors, and provide better clinical outcomes.

The Relationship and Results Oriented Healthcare Planning and Implementation Manual, a new book written by Ruth Hansten, the president of Hansten Healthcare, is transforming the way hospitals approach their healthcare operations. The book is the foundation for a three-level certification program for professional practice that combines the principles of critical thinking, emotional intelligence, delegation and supervision, innovative learning strategies, coaching practice, and the science of teamwork. It also demonstrates many ways to improve patient safety while improving the quality of care without adding to operational costs.

"Patient safety flourishes when healthcare professionals know their patients and their preferred outcomes, and when professionals share an individualized plan of care," said Hansten. "The RROHC program fosters effective clinical judgment and critical thinking with a focus on patient results as a foundation."

The implementation of the RROHC program helps hospitals avoid serious medical errors, otherwise known as "never events." According to the Department of Health & Human Services, never events include surgery performed on the wrong body part, leaving a foreign object in a patient after surgery, mismatching blood transfusions, and major medication errors, to name a few. Never events contribute unnecessarily to the financial crisis already being experienced by hospitals, and seriously damage their credibility in the marketplace. The RROHC program focuses on eliminating never events to protect hospitals from costly litigation and, more importantly, ensure patient safety.

In fact, the RROHC program addresses many of the recommendations provided by the National Patient Safety Foundation and The Joint Commission, whose ultimate missions are to improve patient safety. The National Patient Safety Foundation defines patient safety as the "avoidance, prevention, and amelioration of adverse outcomes or injuries stemming from the process of healthcare itself." It notes that "safety does not reside solely in a person, device, or department. Improving safety depends on learning how safety emerges from the interactions of the components."

The RROHC program shows hospitals how to implement these critical patient safety processes in everyday practice. Nurses are taught appropriate "hand-offs" with a focus on outcomes, the importance of the involvement of the patient and the family in the care provided, how to apply the most effective methods of teamwork, and many other vital components that increase patient safety.

The RROHC Certification Program:
• Helps hospitals build a culture of patient safety
• Adds real value to the patient experience
• Shows the correlation between a hospital's bottom line and it's commitment to patient safety, high quality care, and best practices
• Helps hospitals understand the importance of partnering with the patient and family so health outcomes are known and shared
• Increases staff competency to work as a high-performing team which leads to better patient safety outcomes

"The RROHC bundle of best practices skills development training helps employees to quickly develop expertise and therefore better clinical outcomes, with patients feeling safe, secure, and satisfied," said Hansten. "Knowing the patient and the family improves patient safety because a coordinated plan of care ensures that the right patient receives the right treatment, which ultimately results in better clinical outcomes."

To learn more about Hansten Healthcare's Relationship and Results Oriented Healthcare Certification Program, send an email to [email protected], [email protected], or call 360.437.8060.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Specialist Certification Program
Starts January 26, 2009
This 16-week, instructor-guided self-study has resulted in improvements in professional practice by 34%. Implementation of this program will improve your Press Ganey and Gallup scores. Download the brochure at http://www.rrohc.com/RROHC/SpecialistProgramFlyer.pdf.

Facilitator Certification Program
February 2-4, 2009
This 3-day intensive program introduces facilitation techniques and training concepts required to launch the RROHC system in your own organization. This event is being hosted at Cedarbrook Leadership Center in Tukwila, WA. Download the brochure at http://www.rrohc.com/RROHC/brochure_fac2009.pdf.

ABOUT HANSTEN HEALTHCARE
Ruth Hansten PhD, FACHE, MBA, RN, principal of Hansten Healthcare Consulting, is an accomplished national consultant, speaker, and seminar leader with extensive experience in staff, middle management, education, and executive positions in hospitals and other healthcare settings. Dr. Hansten graduated from the BSN program at the University of Northern Colorado and completed her MBA in healthcare administration in Seattle. Ruth serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Washington and Seattle University. She received her PhD in 2001, with doctoral studies focusing on critical thinking and clinical
judgment in nursing. With 30 years of healthcare experience, Dr. Hansten has served as a trainer or consultant for 160 hospitals, has written six books, and is board certified in healthcare administration and nursing administration. She is also a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, and serves as a hospital trustee.

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