Children's on Quality

The Drive to Zero: Reducing Medication Errors at Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Dr. Rick McClead — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:51:14 +0000

The processes involved in prescribing, dispensing, administering, and monitoring medications to patients are complex and prone to error. In fact, medication errors are the most common type of medical error, and they are a significant cause of preventable harm. This is especially true for hospitalized children for whom medication errors are about three times more common than in hospitalized adults. At Nationwide Children’s Hospital, we are working hard to reduce medication errors and adverse drug events. Listen to this edition of Children’s on Quality as I interview two of our experts who are leading this quality improvement effort.

Making History: President Obama and Governor Strickland Visit Nationwide Children’s

Dr. Rick McClead — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:02:25 +0000

President Obama’s Recovery Summer project kicked off Friday on the corner of Livingston and Parson’s and it was celebrated as the 10,000^th road project paid for by government-funded stimulus money. This project includes new additions of road lanes and the widening of sidewalks in the downtown Columbus area. Governor Strickland was also welcomed as he made a visit to Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s lobby, where he signed the Obesity Bill into law. We are proud to see that the growth and expansion of Nationwide Children’s Hospital has not only been an investment for the hospital, but also a huge investment back into the community. Check out the events that made this day a part of history!

Breaking the Language Barrier

Dr. Rick McClead — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:09:31 +0000

Failure to communicate is a known cause of serious medical errors. Data from the Joint Commission indicates that communication failures contribute to more than 70% of medical errors. This problem is exaggerated when patient-provider communication is complicated by language barriers, especially among immigrant populations. As many of 25% of the immigrant Asian, Hispanic and Pacific Islanders may not have anyone in the family older than 14 years old who speaks English (A.L. Cohen, et al, 2005). Immigrant children represent the fastest growing segment of the pediatric population in the United States. The staff of Nationwide Children’s Hospital care for hundreds of limited or non-English speaking children and families each year. Join me on this edition of “Children’s on Quality” and learn about the interpreter services at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Summertime, and the ‘camping’ is easy…but is it safe?

Dr. Rick McClead — Tue, 11 May 2010 20:21:58 +0000

This summer nearly 11 million children and young adults will head off to summer camp. Most will have a great time, but some may have problems. Sometimes, children have adjustment issues when they go away from home for the first time. Others may experience physical injuries that complicate their camp experience. What do parents need to know about getting their child ready for summer camp? How can they assure their child’s safety? Join me on this edition of Children’s on Quality as I ask these, and other questions to two experts from Nationwide Children’s Hospital: Amy Newmeyer MD, a developmental pediatrician, and Dawn Comstock Ph.D., an injury researcher.

“Having our Babies” – Collaborating to Reduce Preterm Births – Part 2

Dr. Rick McClead — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:41:59 +0000

Ohio perinatal outcomes are not good. The March of Dimes has given Ohio an “F” for our poor performance at reducing the prematurity rate in our state. In part one of this podcast, I introduced the Ohio Better Birth Outcomes (OBBO) initiative. This community-wide collaboration is how Central Ohio is addressing the problem of prematurity in Franklin County. OBBO has 4 components. In part one, I discussed the Central Ohio Scheduled Birth Initiative (COSBI) with Dr. Jay Iams, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at The Ohio State University. In part two, I interview Dr. Phil Scribano, Dr. Jack Stevens and Dr. Jay Iams regarding the other OBBO components: the Nurse-Family Partnership, Safe Spacing, and the 17-P project (17-hydroxyprogesterone).

View March of Dimes Perinatal Statistics
View the 2009 Ohio Better Birth Outcomes (OBBO) Annual Report

“Having Our Babies” – Collaborating to Reduce Preterm Births

Dr. Rick McClead — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:46:11 +0000

In an average week, 2,896 babies are born in Ohio. 385 of these babies are born prematurely. 253 weigh less than three and 1/3 pounds. 23 babies will die before they reach their first birthday. Sadly, the rate of preterm birth in Ohio has increased 21 percent over the last decade. Other birth outcomes are not so good either. In 2008, the March of Dimes issued the first state-by-state Premature Birth Report Card. Ohio got a “D” for a prematurity rate of 13 percent. In 2009, Ohio’s prematurity rate increased to 13.2%, and the March of Dimes issued Ohio an “F”. How can we turn that failing grade around and improve our birth outcomes? Listen in to part one of this special two-part edition of Children’s on Quality as I interview some of the leaders of the Ohio Better Birth Outcomes project.

View March of Dimes Perinatal Statistics »
View the 2009 Ohio Better Birth Outcomes (OBBO) Annual Report »

Growin’, Growin’, Growin’! Nationwide Children’s Keeps a Growin’

Dr. Rick McClead — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:51:42 +0000

In the fall of 2008, Nationwide Children’s Hospital broke ground on a new 12-floor main hospital that is scheduled for completion in 2012. This new tower will be 750,000 square feet and will be surrounded by six acres of green space featuring parks and healing garden spaces for patients and families. The new building will open with more than 450 patient rooms that are 40 percent bigger and an emergency/trauma center that is twice as big as the current facility. It will also have a new pediatric intensive care, cardiac intensive care and transplant unit. Learn about the new patient care tower on this edition of Children’s on Quality.

"I feel good…" Happy, Healthy, Healthcare Workers

Dr. Rick McClead — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:33:37 +0000

Healthy employees are happy employees, and happy employees make better healthcare workers. That is one goal for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Employee Wellness Program. More than one-third of large employers in the U.S. have such wellness programs. They are designed to give employees “the information, tools and support they need to take charge of their health.” Advocates of the employee wellness programs claim that they reduce absenteeism, lower employer healthcare costs, and increase productivity. Tune in to the Children’s on Quality and learn about Nationwide Children’s Hospital Employee Wellness program. Listen to how this program has impacted the life of one of our employees.

Movin’ On Up…to the ’4 East’ Side: Emergency Department Wait Times

Dr. Rick McClead — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:45:13 +0000

With more than 80,000 visits per year, Nationwide Children’s Hospital has the 2nd busiest pediatric emergency department in the United States. Providing timely medical care to that many kids can be a real challenge. Yet, Nationwide Children’s Hospital has some of the best throughput times of any emergency department in America. What is patient throughput? How long is the typical emergency room wait time? How is it that Nationwide Children’s Hospital does so well? Find the answers to these questions on this edition of Children’s on Quality. My guests are Barbara Abdalla, RN and Kathy Nuss, MD from the Emergency Department at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Infant Car Seat Safety: If it’s high up, it’s high risk!

Dr. Rick McClead — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:07:55 +0000

When infant car seats are properly positioned in the car, they can save hundreds, if not thousands of lives each year. But when they’re used improperly outside the car, these safety devices can lead to serious injury. When you place your infant in a car seat on a counter or table, or any high surface, you are putting your child at risk for a major fall. Infants can suffer from serious head injury, fractures or even asphyxiation. How should you properly use an infant car seat to prevent these injuries? Listen to Children’s on Quality and learn from the Nationwide Children’s Hospital experts about the safe use of infant car seats. “If it’s high, up it’s high risk.”

Pediatric Asthma: It takes your breath away!

Dr. Rick McClead — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:09:32 +0000

Worldwide, over 300 million people suffer from asthma, and many of these are children. Sadly, their numbers are increasing. The consequences of pediatric asthma are significant. These include recurrent hospitalizations, poor quality of life and even death. Proven therapies for managing pediatric asthma exist. Yet, recent reports suggest that these therapies are not widely used. Why is this? How is pediatric asthma different from the chronic inflammatory airway disease seen in adults? What should a parent know about their child’s asthma therapy? In this edition of “Children’s on Quality,” I pose these and other questions to Shahid Sheikh, MD, pediatric pulmonologist and asthma expert at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Obesity in America: A Growing Problem!

Dr. Rick McClead — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:44:34 +0000

The health care community has known about the problem of obesity in children for some time. Now, parents are getting the message. The National Poll on Children’s Health conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan lists obesity as the number one health concern of parents in 2009. Overall, 42% of parents rank obesity in children as a “big problem.” For the first time, Hispanic (46%) and African American (55%) parents have joined with Caucasian (39%) parents in identifying obesity as their top concern. Please join me as I talk with Judy Groner, MD, a member of the Section of Ambulatory Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Robert Murray, MD, director of the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, regarding the epidemic of childhood obesity.

Bad Bugs Arising: A look at MRSA on the rise

Dr. Rick McClead — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:07:19 +0000

Recent reports confirm that skin and other infections with bacteria like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA are on the rise. In this podcast, I interview two leaders at Nationwide Children’s Hospital who see this problem first hand each and every day. Dennis Cunningham, MD is a pediatric infectious disease specialist and the medical director for epidemiology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Daniel Cohen, MD is a clinical associate professor and an emergency medicine specialist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. These MRSA experts offer insites into how to recognize and manage MRSA infections in children and families. They also provide an update regarding the quality improvement efforts to reduce MRSA infections both in and out of the hospital.

A Kaleidoscope of Culinary Delights

Dr. Rick McClead — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:12:46 +0000

Did you know that to some extent, the quality and preparation of food in hospitals could have a therapeutic value? In this podcast I speak with Kathy Grover, Director of Nutrition Services at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Chef Matthew Shank, Production Catering Manager at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Chuck Adams, Sr. Business Process Improvement Consultant at Nationwide Children’s Hospital about the food service quality initiative called Kaleidoscope. Listen to the podcast to learn more about the Kaleidoscope program:

Children's on Quality: A look at quality issues affecting pediatric health care

Dr. Rick McClead — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:52:40 +0000

Welcome to Children’s on Quality! My name is Dr. Rick McClead, Medical Director of Quality Improvement Services at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. I’ll be posting podcasts and posts that take an in-depth look at the quality issues affecting pediatric health care across the country by speaking one-on-one with those on the front lines of patient care, as well as those behind-the-scenes who contribute to overall quality and safety.

Be sure to subscribe to “Children’s on Quality” via the orange RSS button on this page to stay abreast of the latest in quality. I invite you to listen and join the conversation by posting your comments, feedback, questions and opinions on the issues discussed.