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"Our entire community is so fortunate to have an organization that devotes each and every day to saving people's lives . And now, mine is one of those lives saved."
Skip's body was having a severe sepsis reaction as a result of an E. coli infection after a prostate biopsy. Because sepsis can lead to blood clotting and organ failure, the death rate is often very high unless a timely diagnosis is made and quick treatment is delivered. Fortunately for Skip and countless others, Provena Health is a member of the "Surviving Sepsis" campaign, becoming some of the first hospitals in Illinois to join an international coalition aimed at decreasing sepsis fatalities. Skip's care team immediately sprung into action initiating sepsis protocols and within an hour, he had regained consciousness and was on the road to recovery. "My story shows the true value in community hospitals like Provena Covenant staying up-to-date with the latest quality improvement initiatives," says Skip.
"Put simply, quality is the pursuit of our Values," says Margaret Gavigan, System Senior Vice President, Chief Clinical Officer. "It's committing to constant improvement, and setting goals for ourselves and for our ministries so we may continually strive to enhance the level of service we provide. No matter our role, everyone plays a part in developing the overall quality picture here at Provena." Provena's dedication to sepsis awareness and prevention is just one of many initiatives critical to our focus on providing the highest level of quality care and patient safety. In fact, Provena Health is in an especially unique position to make a significant difference in sepsis survival rates due to the enhanced Intensive Care Unit (eICU) technology in our critical care units. Implemented system-wide in 2005, the Provena Health eICU Connection provides an extra layer of coverage through off-site monitoring of critical care patients by intensive care physicians and nurses. By utilizing the critical care telemedicine expertise and infrastructure already in place, the Provena eICU connection has the ability to disseminate best practices and improve clinical outcomes across our adult ICUs through patient identification, data collection, protocol implementation and, of course, the additional layer of critical care they already provide. Other examples of key quality and patient safety initiatives across the Provena Health system include:
In addition, Provena Health ministries are hard at work developing processes and technologies that will allow us to bring electronic medical records on board by 2013. Recognition from third-party evaluators has only strengthened our efforts to bring the latest in quality and patient safety initiatives to those we serve.
However, not even the most sophisticated technology or processes can replace the healing touch of all those who make up Provena's dedicated care teams. "When I woke up, I saw the nurses in the ICU whizzing around me," said Skip. "I wasn't sure where I was at first, but I knew I was alive, and they were the ones who had helped save me. Those nurses were my angels. Thanks to their expertise, my physician's care, and Provena's sepsis campaign, I'm still here."
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When Urbana resident Skip Pickering began experiencing flu-like symptoms that escalated into chest pain, he knew something was terribly wrong. His wife, Lacy, immediately took him to the Emergency Department at Provena Covenant Medical Center in Urbana.
