Insights from the Armstrong Institute
A few months ago, I posted about the pleasure of meeting Horst Schulze, a former Ritz-Carlton executive who created his own ultra-luxury hotel chain based on many of the principles he employed while working for the Ritz-Carlton. It was clear to me that the hospitality industry has something to teach health care about what it(...)
Feb 19, 2013 2 comments
One of my colleagues, Nancy, recently shared a surprising experience that she had with her son—one of four children—as she was getting ready to send him off to college. The night before he left, this strapping, six-foot-tall man, who plays football and lacrosse, made an unusual request: He asked his mom to tuck him in to bed. When he(...)
Oct 9, 2012 6 comments
We’re pleased to announce that the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has awarded Johns Hopkins’ Armstrong Institute a grant of $8.9 million to design safer care in ICUs. This project will have two overriding aims: to better engage patients—and their family members—as integral parts of the care team; and to use systems engineering methods to(...)
Aug 28, 2012 5 comments
Recently, I had an enlightening encounter with Horst Schulze, who led Ritz-Carlton Hotels to national awards and has since opened his own hotel chain, Capella. Hortz gave an informal presentation to members of a program that I’m taking part in, the Baldrige Executive Fellowship, and we continued to talk afterwards. Capella has five ultraluxury hotels(...)
Jul 31, 2012 1 comment
This year I am participating in an executive fellowship that is designed to expose leaders in various industries to the Baldrige Framework, a model for organizational excellence. As part of the program, the fellows visit companies that received the coveted Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Recently, we toured(...)
Jul 19, 2012 8 comments
Every clinician has encountered patients whose memories stay with them for years. The patients who stick usually are not the ones for whom the clinician made a brilliant diagnosis or provided evidence-based therapies. They are the patients who touched clinicians' hearts, the ones they formed a relationship with, the ones in whom they saw themselves or a loved one—ultimately, the(...)
Jan 9, 2012 1 comment
I was reminded again recently of how important it is to sometimes just sit back and listen to what our patients have to say. Every month, as part of our hospital-wide patient safety efforts, I meet with staff and interview patients, seeking to learn how we can improve the care we provide to them. A(...)
Jan 5, 2012 5 comments
I hope you’ll take the time to check out our podcast project, The Heart of Caring, which highlights stories that deepen our understanding of patient- and family-centered care. A recently added story comes from physician Dan Munoz, who recalls a decision about whether to place a 99-year-old patient on a ventilator. It’s often considered humane to withhold(...)
Dec 12, 2011 No comments
Last year, Sarah Andryauskas, then a new nurse in our emergency department, was caring for a patient with diabetes who had trouble maintaining healthy blood glucose levels. His disease had contributed to several hospital visits over the preceding months and years. As health care providers, it’s tempting to attribute such repeat visits to patient noncompliance.(...)
Nov 28, 2011 6 comments
My daughter just asked me what I was thankful for this Thanksgiving. As I reflected on the blessings in my family and personal life, I also thought about what I was grateful for in patient safety. While progress has been slower than any of us would want, we certainly have many things to count: Patient-(...)
Nov 23, 2011 No comments