2014 Nursing Leadership Award presented to MUHC Chief Nursing Officer
MISSISSAUGA, ON, July 18, 2014 /CNW/ - As the sponsor of the annual Nursing Leadership Award of The Canadian College of Health Leaders, Baxter Corporation is pleased to congratulate Patricia O'Connor, FCCHL, Director of Nursing and Chief Nursing Officer at McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), who has been named the 2014 award winner.
Nurses play a vital role in the lives of patients and the provision of quality care and throughout the company's almost 80-year history in Canada, Baxter has been proud to partner with nurses to advance innovation, access and safety in care.
"Nursing leaders help drive excellence in frontline healthcare management and delivery. Each day, they help inspire confidence, promote engagement and advance best practices and programs which are helping to transform care. Through this award, Baxter is pleased to help recognize nursing leaders for the passion and dedication they bring to work each day, and to distinguish their outstanding contribution and achievements in improving healthcare delivery," says Alison Drinkwater, Director Public Policy, Market Access and Health Economics, Baxter Corporation.
Patricia O'Connor was nominated by the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI) for her leadership in implementing innovative, lasting programs to improve patient safety and quality of care. In her role as Director of Nursing and Chief Nursing Officer at McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) since 2009, O'Connor co-led a best practices program and helped transform care at the bedside by engaging patients and frontline staff in quality improvement. Among her achievements at MUHC, she helped increased direct care time of nurses by 10%, while decreasing the waste by half. The initiative called "Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB)" engaged more than 1,500 nurses and other healthcare professionals across MUHC and was recognized by Accreditation Canada as a leading practice in December 2013.
Previous, O'Connor completed the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI) EXTRA Fellowship program where she co-led an initiative that led to 50% reductions in falls and pressure ulcers in acute care. And she was the first Canadian nurse in the U.S. Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellowship Program in Health Policy and Practice.
"Her work in co-designing in-patient care with patients, stemming from her Patient Engagement Project supported by CFHI, helped transform behaviors to support innovation and decision-making. The project resulted in a better system for admission and discharge procedures," says Maureen O'Neil, President, CFHI. "The legacy was a profound cultural shift, with improved multi-disciplinary team collaboration and communication continuing to benefit patients and reduce costs. Notably, wait times for chemotherapy fell 57 percent, medication transcription errors dropped 60 percent while the admission process time for mental health patients fell 75 percent."
O'Connor is a former Fellow of CFHI's EXTRA program, past president of the Academy of Canadian Executive Nurses and serves on a number of healthcare boards including the International Advisory Board of NQuIRE (Nursing Quality Indicators for Reporting and Evaluation). In 2008 she received the MUHC Valerie Shannon Award for Innovative Leadership for excellence in nursing and in 2010 a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital.
About the Nursing Leadership Award
Baxter Corporation shares with nurses a commitment to advancing clinical excellence, and works directly with nurses throughout the year in institutions across the country to provide clinical programs and continuing education to help advance safe and quality patient care.
Since 2005, Baxter has been the proud sponsor of The Nursing Leadership Award, an initiative of the Canadian College of Health Leaders (CCHL). The Nursing Leadership Award builds on the themes of patient-centered care and leadership and honours those who demonstrate an ongoing commitment to excellence in these areas. Recipients seek to advance nursing at every level, to remove barriers between providers and to build systems of quality care for patients. They have displayed their leadership qualities both within, and outside, their organization. The programs that they have delivered have resulted in a measurable improvement to their organization's excellence. The award is presented annually at the CCHL National Awards Gala.
About Baxter Corporation
As the Canadian subsidiary of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX), Baxter Corporation manufactures and markets products that save and sustain the lives of people living with hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma, and other chronic and acute medical conditions. As a global, diversified healthcare company, Baxter applies a unique combination of expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to create products that advance patient care worldwide. Learn more about Baxter at: www.baxter.ca.
SOURCE: Baxter Corporation
Media inquiries: Baxter Corporation, Heather MacDonnell, 905-369-6398; Canadian College of Health Leaders, Cindy MacBride, 613-235-7218; McGill University Health Centre, Patricia O'Connor, 514-934-4411
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