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CWA Project to Help Patients, Staff at Public Hospital Wins Major Award
CWA members who created and led a project to reduce the use of patient restraints at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey have won first place in a statewide quality improvement competition, beating more than 60 other entries.
By creating new quiet areas called "walk off zones" for patients in distress and using other de-escalation techniques, the CWA team of psychologists, nurses and support staff reduced patient restraint use by 58 percent and staff injuries by 93 percent.
In the eight months before the program was launched, 16 employees were injured while restraining patients. During the same time period after the new program began, only one minor injury was reported.
"This demonstrates that public employees are innovative and that we not only can compete with but exceed the private sector in delivering quality patient care," said Dr. Jeffrey Uhl, a psychologist and member of CWA Local 1040 who was one of the team leaders. "That's extremely important for people to know when the privatization of state hospitals is being explored."
The team of about 15 CWA members developed the project using "Lean Six Sigma" problem solving and management principles. "It's bottom up versus top down management, allowing employees to own the process," Uhl said.
The hospital is building a display case for the team’s Richard Codey Behavioral Healthcare Quality Improvement Trophy, which is passed on each year to the competition’s winner. The award is named for a former New Jersey governor who has long supported mental health care services.