The Effect of a System-Level Tiered Huddle System on Reporting Patient Safety Events: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis.

Background: The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of implementing a system-level tiered huddle system (THS) on the reporting of patient safety events into the official event reporting system.

Methods: A quasi-experimental study using interrupted time series was conducted to assess the impact and changes to trends in the reporting of patient safety events pre- (February-July 2020; six months) and post- (September 2020-February 2021; six months) THS implementation within one health care system (238 clinics and 4 hospitals). The severity of harm was analyzed in July 2021 using a modified Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) harm score classification.

Virtual Simulation to Reinforce Nursing Staff Resuscitation Responses.

In-hospital cardiac arrests have high mortality rates, increased by delayed resuscitation. Using a single group pre-post interventional design to implement virtual cardiac arrest simulations for medical-surgical units, the purpose of this project was to decrease resuscitation delays and improve self-confidence of the nursing staff. Both response times and confidence improved following virtual simulation.

Length of Stay, Mortality, Cost, and Perceptions of Care Associated With Transition From an Open to Closed Staffing Model in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Organizational models in the intensive care unit (ICU) have classically been described as either closed or open, depending on the presence or absence of a dedicated ICU team. Although a closed model has been shown to improve patient outcomes in medical and surgical ICUs, the merits of various care models have not been previously explored in the cardiac ICU (CICU) setting.

Methods: From November 2012 to March 2014, data were prospectively collected on all admissions before and after transition from an open to closed CICU at our institution.

Putting class IIb recommendations to the test: the influence of unwitnessed and Non-VT/VF arrests on resource consumption and outcomes in therapeutic hypothermia and targeted temperature management.

Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) and targeted temperature management improve neurologic recovery, and survival for patients resuscitated from witnessed out-of-hospital ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF) cardiac arrest. The American Heart Association recently gave a class IIb recommendation for the use of TH for non-VT/VF and unwitnessed arrests. We explored changes in baseline characteristics, resource use, and outcomes after expanding indications for TH at our institution based on these guidelines.