MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

As summer comes to close we prepare

ourselves for fall in Florida and the

holidays. A twenty-four day sometimes

does not seem long enough. We work lives – staffing shortages, budget cuts, and busy schedules. I appreciate

everyone’s commitment and hard work with the Florida Neonatal Pediatric Network. I know it not always easy to allocate the time with everyone’s busy schedule. However, we need to continue to be the voice of neonatal and pediatric transports in the State. So lets move forward with our 2003 goals and

our dedication to the industry.

Louis Bowen, RNC, ARNP, MSN.

President

Updates

To receive copies of updates, By Laws

email Maria.fernandez@mch.com

Remember to visit our web page

at www.florida-air-medical.org.

Anyone interested in writing articles

for the newsletter contact Maria or

Louise.

OCTOBER, 2002

FNPTNA

FLORIDA NEONATAL PEDIATRIC TRANSPORT NETWORK ASSOCIATION

3100 SW 62 AVENUE

MIAMI, FL 33155

Mission/Vision Statement

FNPTNA represents the community of Neonatal/Pediatric transport nurses that provides evidence based care to high risk patients. FNPTNA recognizes the professional as experts that influences standards of practice through advocacy, collaboration and leadership in transport.

VOLUME 9, NUMBER 1

Quality Assurance/Performance Improvement in the Aeromedical Environment By: Maria Fernandez, MSN, ARNP, CMTE Miami LifeFlight Program Director Your transport program should design and implement a process which systemically monitors and evaluates the holistic quality of the services that you provide. Performance improvement process reflects a blending of ideas that enables the transport program to address quality issues and evaluate outcomes. The Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) in its document – Minimum Quality Standards and Safety Guidelines states that “The quality and appropriateness of patient care provided by the medical service shall be continuously reviewed, evaluated and assured through the establishment of a quality control mechanism.” Some of the components that you may want to look at may include dispatching process, education/training, equipment/supply, clinical protocols and procedures, safety issues, and customer satisfaction. When you begin considering what areas you which to monitor, evaluate, and improve look at areas that are problem prone, high risk, and high volume aspect of the program. Develop you own performance improvement committee that can implement systemic patient care monitors, assess adverse patient occurrences, assess patient outcome, address current issues, and evaluates opportunities for improvement. There are many different types of tools. The monitoring and methodology of the quality management system should incorporate a circular process. The steps you want to take are: · Establish indicators · Establish thresholds · Establish frequency of indicators · Identify opportunities for improvement · Develop an action plan · Initiate education, in-services · Implement the change · Evaluate the change · Re-evaluate indicators Quality assurance programs that sets standards and evaluates clinical performance against their standards is the only way an individual program can assure itself that optimal patient care is being delivered. Your ultimate goal with your Quality Assurance program is that you provide the best patient care.