In Search of The Emerald City: Implementation of an ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System at an Acute Care Hospital in Kansas

Session
Patient Safety and Quality

Authors
Bryce Carson
Vice President
Quality Paradigms Training and Consulting, Inc.

Cheryl McCart
RN, ADN, Executive
Newton Medical Center

Description
Mr. Carson and Ms. McCart will be presenting their experiences with planning and implementing an ISO9001:2000 quality management systems at Newton Medical Center near Wichita, Kansas.

Abstract
Traditionally hospital organizational wide performance improvement and the provision of safe patient care has been assumed to have been achieved through the JCAHO/AOA accreditation process. This presentation will demonstrate that these activities can be achieved and enhanced beyond the traditional accreditation approach. This session will highlight the efforts of an acute care hospital in south central Kansas as they achieved ISO certification as a complement to the accreditation process. Newton Medical Center has not only achieved financial benefit as a result of implementating an effective quality management system but most importantly has observed cultural changes and improved operational and patient care delivery. These changes have resulted in increased patient safety, enhanced patient and employee communication and improved patient and staff satisfaction.

The audience will "travel" with the presenters as they "journey" from the starting point of identifying a need for organizational change through the ISO 9001:2000 implementation process, including the trials, obstacles and successes that were realized along the way. As a result of this ""journey"", attendees will begin to see the positive benefits that implementing a similar quality management system will have for their own organizations, whether large or small so that they too will experience true continual organizational performance improvement.