Competence and Kindness are Keys to Improved Performance

For years hospitals have tried to solve medical errors through encouraging best practices and process improvements. Yet the number of hospital medical errors and safety incidents are on the rise, according to the HealthGrades Third Annual Patient Safety in American Hospitals Study.

Bradley Hospital is tackling the problem in a novel way. Unlike anyone else in the region and possibly nation, they began by identifying their core mission values (child/family first, communication, collaboration, takes initiative and critical problem solving) and defining measurable behaviors for each to optimize a culture of safety and quality. These mission critical values are being integrated into all human resources processes, from employee selection and leadership development through performance evaluation. Bradley's new Mission Critical Competencies initiative (MCCs) hopes to achieve extraordinary patient care outcomes and deliver world-class parent satisfaction and employee engagement results.

White is confidant that Bradley's new Mission Critical Competencies approach constitutes the key “missing ingredient in the health care equation” to help deliver safer and more satisfying care.

He may be right because the early results are very promising; not only have Bradley Hospital employees expressed near unanimous support of the program, but parent satisfaction scores recorded the month following the first behavioral competency training showed the highest levels of satisfaction ever, particularly for the acute inpatient programs. A pilot study also found Bradley's MCC performance management approach to reduce patient safety related staff injuries by 45 percent.

MCCs is a well-designed and internally consistent performance initiative. Clear expectations are communicated to all staff too, which holds them accountable and creates a culture where regular feedback is valued. One of the overarching goals is to recruit and retain employees of the highest caliber who not only know what to do, but also know how best to do it every time.

"Perhaps the best thing about MCCs is that it has been designed by a committed group of managers and staff at Bradley for a workforce which couldn't be more dedicated" says White. Additionally, Lifespan president and CEO, George Vecchione and Bradley Hospital board chair, David Brown, have championed Bradley Hospital’s MCCs.

White’s enthusiasm for the program is contagious, “if people are working more collaboratively and communicatively, it’s just going to make our hospital safer, our care and service more satisfying and our workplace a more happier place,” he says. This simple, yet smart approach is helping to revolutionize health care delivery at Bradley Hospital.

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