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More than 350 health care professionals gathered at the 2019 Hospital Quality Institute (HQI) Annual Conference in Sacramento Oct. 14 and 15 to discuss the successes that have positioned California as the quality improvement leader, and the challenges that remain to advancing patient safety. The conference featured 20 speakers from across the country, an opening day of keynote addresses, and a half day with nine breakouts that took a deep dive into some of the most pressing patient safety issues facing California hospitals.
Robert Imhoff, HQI president, opened the conference and thanked those gathered for “the care that you provide, the lives you save, and the compassion you impart.” He was joined by CHA President & CEO Carmela Coyle, who remarked that health care professionals are being asked to deliver higher quality care, and to do it with a greater emphasis on affordability.
The conference’s opening keynote, J. Bryan Sexton, Ph.D., associate professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University, explored health care worker burnout — how to recognize its signs and understand its costs, as well as how to combat it. Dr. Sexton noted a common thread for reducing burnout is to “pause and reflect on the positive in our lives.”
Sexton also discussed “Three Good Things” initiative developed at the Duke University Center for Healthcare Safety & Quality as a tool to help professionals avoid burnout.
Following Dr. Sexton was a panel discussion on getting ahead of infectious threats moderated by Dr. Alexander Kallen from the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The first day also featured several presenters who emphasized the value of open communications in achieving positive outcomes for both patients and caregivers, as well as 28 poster sessions highlighting best practices in quality improvement and patient safety across California.
The conference’s second day featured sessions on improving maternal care, curbing the opioid epidemic, family-centered rounds, and the effect of implicit bias on the way we provide health care.
The HQI Annual Conference is the premiere gathering of quality improvement and patient safety professionals on the West Coast.
