WellSpan Health wins top honor from American Hospital Association

At WellSpan Health, leaders and clinicians have been focusing on improving patient safety for some time.

Michael Seim, WellSpan’s senior vice president and chief quality officer, told Chief Healthcare Executive® in an August 2023 interview that the key to the system’s success in reducing harmful events has been securing buy-in across the organization. Employees, whether they’re clinicians or serving in other roles, recognize the need to protect patients, he said.

“Our team members really took to heart this idea that they own safety, and that safety is everyone's obsession at WellSpan,” Seim said.

Now, WellSpan’s efforts have earned national recognition. The American Hospital Association has given the 2024 Quest for Quality prize to the Pennsylvania health system. WellSpan leaders received the prize at the AHA’s Leadership Summit in San Diego this week.

“WellSpan’s 23,000 problem solvers embrace a goal of zero harm for patients and team members and this recognition from the American Hospital Association is a testament to that important effort,” Roxanna Gapstur, WellSpan’s president & CEO, said in a statement.

Digging into data

Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, lauded WellSpan’s data-driven approach.

“WellSpan digs into the data to drive its work on patient safety, disparities, and well-being,” Pollack said.

WellSpan notes that its efforts have led to a 45% reduction in serious safety events.

The hospital association also lauded WellSpan for making strides in health equity, including its success in improving screening rates of Hispanic residents. WellSpan is based in central Pennsylvania and its footprint covers small cities such as York, large suburbs and very rural areas. Some communities have sizable Latino populations, while WellSpan’s footprint includes communities with thousands of Amish residents.

In an interview with Chief Healthcare Executive® last month, Gapstur said the system examines quality measures among racial groups and those with lower incomes. As a result, the system has closed gaps in screening rates for breast cancer, colorectal cancer and hypertension.

“We've worked very hard on health equity,” she said.

WellSpan has focused on improving diversity across the system, and Gapstur said that is an important step in improving health equity.

“We want to give opportunities to everyone to be their authentic self at work at WellSpan and really enjoy the work that they're doing here,” Gapstur said.

WellSpan operates nine acute care hospitals across Pennsylvania. The system completed the acquisition of Evangelical Community Hospital earlier this month. WellSpan is also planning to build three micro hospitals in central Pennsylvania.

(See part of our August 2023 conversation with WellSpan’s Michael Seim about the system’s efforts to improve safety. The story continues below.)

Other finalists

The American Hospital Association named three other finalists for the Quest for Quality Prize: Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, Va.; Jefferson Health in Philadelphia, Pa., and MUSC Health in Charleston, S.C.

Carilion was recognized for its efforts to reduce mortality rates and improve communications with additional huddles to share information about patient care.

Jefferson earned praise for the development of a quality and safety management system known as OnPoint, which has saved nearly 700 lives and $30 million in costs, the AHA said. Jefferson recently announced a definitive agreement on a merger with the Lehigh Valley Health Network, which would create a 30-hospital system.

MUSC Health received plaudits for the development of a telehealth program aimed at making care more accessible to more than 150 schools. The program offers primary care and mental health services.