In the landscape of healthcare, mergers and acquisitions are becoming increasingly commonplace, offering opportunities for expanded services, shared expertise, and cost savings. However, the challenge of merging diverse health care systems into a cohesive, functioning entity while maintaining high quality and standards of care cannot be overstated. A recent example of such an integration is Ascension Wisconsin, where four long-standing health care systems—Ministry Health Care, Affinity Health System, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, and Columbia St Mary’s—came together. During its inaugural year, Ascension faced the formidable task of streamlining redundant policies and processes pertaining to infection control, a sphere critical to patient safety and care quality.
This article explores the steps the newly formed Infection Prevention Council at Ascension Wisconsin undertook to standardize infection prevention measures. It examines the ways in which their experience can serve as an instructional case study for other healthcare systems undergoing similar mergers.
Background of the Merge
Ascension Wisconsin’s merger crossed several existing healthcare borders, amalgamating resources, staff, and protocols from four established entities. The wisdom behind such integration was clear—potential improvements in patient care, increased efficiency, and a unified front to tackle public health issues. However, with this merge came the redundancy of many policies and protocols, a problem that needed immediate attention for the new entity to offer streamlined, state-of-the-art infection control and prevention.
Initial Challenges
The urgency of rectifying duplicated efforts and conflicting protocols was heightened by the imperative to prevent and control infections. These redundancies not only could confuse staff but also compromise patient care. To combat this, Ascension Wisconsin’s Infection Prevention Council set out to create a standardized set of policies that would be effective across the newly merged system. Brenda Ehlert of Ascension Wisconsin’s Quality Systems was at the forefront of this initiative, alongside Anthony Zeimet from Affinity Medical Group.
Formulating the Approach
The detailed approach that Ehlert and Zeimet undertook involved setting a clear structure for the endeavor, establishing concrete goals, and meticulously evaluating progress. This systematic method is akin to many quality principles utilized in manufacturing and other industries where consistency and preciseness are paramount.
The change process began with the consolidation of various teams and committees related to infection prevention across the four systems. These teams were critical in identifying the various practices, guidelines, and workflows that were in use before the merger.
Goals and Structure
The primary goal for Ascension Wisconsin’s Infection Prevention Council was to ensure that all patients received the same high standard of care with regard to infection prevention, independent of the facility they visited. To achieve this, the team needed to identify best practices across the different systems and implement them universally.
The structure of the approach was built around key quality principles, including engagement from all levels of staff, clear communication, and continuous performance monitoring. The new structure had to be flexible enough to accommodate the differing local needs while strict enough to maintain the highest standard of care.
The Process of Standardization
The process of policy standardization involved rigorous review of the existing practices to identify the most effective ones. The Council brought together experts in infection control, quality improvement, and clinical services from across the merged systems. This collaborative effort ensured that all voices were included in the decision-making process and led to the development of standard operating procedures that met regulatory requirements and upheld best practice benchmarks.
The effective practices were then codified into shared protocols, guidelines, and education materials. With these standardized documents, staff training across all facilities began to ensure compliance with the new infection control procedures.
Regular evaluations were scheduled to assess the effectiveness of the new standards. Outcomes measured included rates of hospital-acquired infections, compliance with hand hygiene, and proper use of personal protective equipment, among other metrics.
Results and Achievements
Details of Ascension Wisconsin’s successful standardization process were published in the “American Journal of Infection Control” in November 2019. The DOI for this notable case study is 10.1016/j.ajic.2019.04.002. While the report doesn’t specify numerical outcomes, it highlights the successful formation of a unified infection prevention policy, indicating the potential for eliminating unnecessary redundancies and improving overall quality of care.
References
1. Ehlert, B., & Zeimet, A. (2019). Merging health care systems: An example of utilizing quality principles in infection prevention standardization. American Journal of Infection Control, 47(11), 1390-1392.
2. Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. (2019). Copyright © 2019 APIC.
3. Elsevier Inc. (2019). Publishing and copyright information for the American Journal of Infection Control.
4. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2014). Guide to infection prevention for outpatient settings: minimum expectations for safe care.
5. World Health Organization. (2021). WHO guidelines on hand hygiene in health care: a summary.
Keywords
1. Healthcare System Merger
2. Infection Prevention Standardization
3. Quality Improvement in Healthcare
4. Hospital Acquired Infections
5. Cross-System Integration in Healthcare
Conclusion
This account of standardization within Ascension Wisconsin post-merger demonstrates the valuable application of quality principles to healthcare integration, particularly in an area as critical as infection prevention. Other healthcare systems undergoing similar changes can draw lessons from Ascension’s experience, suggesting that despite the complexities of mergers, the commitment to patient safety and quality care ensures a successful transition to a single, standardized health system.
For further information on Ascension’s success in infection prevention standardization and the reference journal article, the reader can access the DOI provided: 10.1016/j.ajic.2019.04.002. As healthcare mergers continue to reshape the industry landscape, such insights become increasingly vital to ensuring seamless transitions and maintaining the trust and safety of the populations served.