Hospital Named Among Maryland Patient Safety Center 'Circle of Honor' Minogue Awards Winners

The University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center has been named a Circle of Honor winner in the Maryland Patient Safety Center's 2022 Minogue Awards for Patient Safety Innovation. The award-winning program is a patient safety performance improvement initiative to promote early out of bed activity in hospitalized patients.

"I'm very proud of our team for implementing this innovative program," said Noel Cervino, President and CEO of UM Charles Regional. "The program has benefits for all patients and demonstrates our team's commitment to the complete well-being of those who are in our care."

UM Charles Regional Medical Center is one of several hospitals statewide to be recognized in this year's MPSC program. Two University of Maryland Medical System hospitals, UM Charles Regional and UM Baltimore Washington Medical Center, are among eight Circle of Honor winners statewide.

"We are particularly proud of this recognition for our hospitals because there is nothing more important in health care then keeping our patients safe and constantly striving to improve innovation and quality," said Mohan Suntha, MD, MBA, President and CEO of UMMS. "These awards highlight our System's fundamental commitment to compassionate high-quality care, health care transformation and discovery-based medicine."

"Mobility Rounds and Reports: Tools for Improving Patient Mobility & Safety Outcomes at a Community Hospital" was submitted by Sharon Khoo, MS, CCC-SLP, Manager Rehabilitation Services at UM Charles Regional.

Prolonged bed rest during hospitalization can lead to significant medical complications, such as deconditioning and weakness, skin breakdown, hospital-acquired infections, increased length of stay and increased falls. Many of these potential complications can be prevented by early mobilization and out of bed activity. For the six months prior to initiating mobility rounds, the hospital's average mobility score was 26%; six months after starting the program, the average mobility score was 85%. The average number of inpatient falls per 1,000 patient days also decreased from 2.8 to 2.4 – a 14.3% decrease.

"This initiative is designed to get patients up and moving as quickly as possible," said Khoo. "We help the nursing staff assess what patients have been doing, and what needs they have to improve their mobility. The activity is customized based on the patient's ability. Some patients work toward sitting up in a chair for their meals three times a day. Other patients are able to take purposeful walks in the hallway three times a day."

Mobility Rounds are completed three times a week by an interdisciplinary team. The goal of the mobility rounds is to ensure all appropriate patients are safely mobilized on a regular basis. The team reviews mobility reports with staff and helps address barriers to out-of-bed activity. Team members also provide staff and patient education on a variety of topics related to mobility.

"With dozens of submissions to choose from, we know that healthcare organizations here in Maryland are some of the most forward thinking throughout the country," said Blair Eig, MD, President and CEO of the Maryland Patient Safety Center. "We are proud to recognize all participants for their attention, innovation, and commitment to addressing some of the most pertinent and complex issues penetrating patient safety today. Congratulations to the winners on their successful contributions to our mission of Keeping Maryland Healthcare Safe."

Named for the center's first President and Executive Director, William Minogue, MD, FACP, to honor his enduring contributions to and passion for improving patient care and safety, The Minogue Awards were created by the center's Board of Directors to recognize organizations within the state that have made a demonstrable difference in patient safety through an innovative solution.

The Minogue honorees were selected by a panel of independent judges who are leaders in the Maryland healthcare community. The award winners will be recognized and present their solutions at the 18th Annual Maryland Patient Safety Conference, which will be held in person on March 4.