FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Feb. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Fountain Valley Regional Hospital (FVRH) is one of four Tenet Hospitals nationwide to win the prestigious Clinical Innovation Award. FVRH earned the award for a hospital-wide initiative aimed at reducing the incidence of critical hypoglycemia in patients with diabetes, a condition that results in reduced patient safety and quality of care.

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Studies show that patients who have hypoglycemic incidents experience an increased length of stay (LOS) as well as increased mortality.  To address the issue, the hospital created a Interdisciplinary Diabetes Committee to monitor the status of glycemic control in FVRH and introduce ways to intervene clinically when patients are at risk of developing critical hypoglycemia, a blood glucose less than 50 mg/dL.

The Clinical Innovation Awards honor outstanding clinical efforts and programs in Tenet hospitals with quantifiable results sustained over a minimum of three quarters. FVRH's initiative involved collecting data on all inpatients with orders for Accuchecks between July 2010 and June 2011. Accuchecks measure a patient's glucose at bedside through a fingerstick test strip. The glucometric data was downloaded daily and used to identify patients with critical hypoglycemia events. More stringent diabetes protocols and staff diabetes training was implemented and critical hypoglycemic events were reduced by 74.5% during the year-long effort. A secondary finding revealed a decrease in the average LOS for diabetes patients, from 5.9 days to 4.9 days.

Laura Garcia, RN, the hospital's Diabetes Program Coordinator, manages the Orange County Regional Diabetes Center at FVRH and spearheaded the project. "A hospital-wide, team approach was the key to our success," Garcia states.  "With guidance from an Interdisciplinary Team that included clinical staff from physicians, nursing, quality improvement, lab, the pharmacy and education, we were able to gain insights, address challenges and work together to overcome them."  

In 2010, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) awarded its prestigious Education Recognition Certificate to the Orange County Regional Diabetes Center at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital. The Association's Education Recognition Certificate assures that the Center meets or exceeds the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs.

"We are very proud of our hospital's Diabetes Program," notes Paul Czjaka, the hospital's Chief Operating Officer. "All of our efforts are focused on improving the experience and care outcomes of our diabetic patients through continuous quality improvement, and it shows." 

For more information about Fountain Valley Regional Hospital, please visit us at www.fountainvalleyhospital.com.

Contact: Dina Edwards
714-966-8175
Dina.Edwards@tenethealth.com

SOURCE Fountain Valley Regional Hospital

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