Phoenix va wins top award for patient quality improvement | va phoenix health care | veterans affairs

The Phoenix VA Health Care System was recognized as overall top performers at the second annual Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) awards ceremony Oct. 16, in Tucson, AZ.

“These awards are created to recognize Arizona’s leaders who are committed to advancing healthcare through exceptional quality performance, community engagement and a culture of continuous

improvement,” said Ann-Marie Alameddin, president and CEO of AzHHA. “It was clear from reading the submissions that all of our applicants are tackling important projects to make a difference

for their patients and communities.” The Top Overall Excellence Award recognizes the highest achievement among the top scorers from each category. The top scorers were blinded and scored by

volunteer leaders from other state hospital associations. This year’s Top Overall Excellence Award was presented to the Phoenix VA Health Care System for their submission titled “Journey to

ZERO (Harm) — a Fall Reduction Project.” The submission detailed a fall reduction initiative aimed at cutting the fall rate in acute care services by 50%. The project emphasized continuous

feedback, psychological safety and performance improvement, resulting in significant progress in fall prevention metrics. “The Phoenix VA is dedicated to safeguarding Veteran safety through

continuous process improvements, such as our Journey to ZERO (Harm) Falls Prevention project. Being recognized by the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association for our efforts is a

privilege and an honor,” said Jaime Inman, Chief Nurse of Operations and Performance Improvement. Phoenix VA also won the Patient Safety and Quality (Top Federal Hospital). This award

celebrates healthcare facilities in Arizona for their outstanding achievements in enhancing clinical quality and patient care.  “Our success would not be possible without the commitment of

our nurses who consistently show up day after day and do the right thing for our Veterans. Their integrity and commitment are the heart of our ICARE values and the driving force behind our

accomplishments,” said Inman. For the Second Annual AzHHA Quality Awards, applications were solicited for three different categories: Patient Safety and Quality, Community Engagement and

Maternal Health Innovation. Within each of these categories, there were three classifications for each award: top critical access/rural hospital (less than or equal to 100 beds), top general

acute care (greater or equal to 101 beds) and top federal hospital.