Reduce Infection Rates
with Greg Pivirotto, University Medical Center Tucson, Tucson, AZ
At UMC Tucson—a 350 teaching bed hospital with 4,000 employees in Tucson, AZ—CEO Greg Pivirotto is making the rounds…CEO validation rounds.…every single day. In addition to asking what employees need and who he can recognize, Pivirotto hardwires accountability for organizational priorities, like reducing infections.
It all started at UMC's quarterly Leadership Institute when Pivirotto mulled a compelling piece of data: Patient satisfaction surveys consistently showed that when patients were visited by the patient care manager on their unit, satisfaction ranked in the 85th percentile. When they weren't, UMC ranked in the 1st percentile.
"I asked the CNO if she'd commit to rounding every day. I saw the look of terror in her eyes, wondering how she could find the time. So, I decided to make the challenge. If I could do it, she could too," he explains. "I round on three employees every day. It takes an hour of my time to round and 15 minutes for follow-up back at my computer. I ask nurse managers, 'What's your patient satisfaction today? How many surveys do you have back? What are the four things your patients are saying are concerns or issues?' Now they walk up to me and say, 'N of 12, score of 78, attention to emotional needs.'"
Pivirotto also asks if nurse managers are getting to every patient every day. If it's a night or weekend, he'll ask who's covering. Currently, UMC is focusing on reducing infections so he'll ask about the status of infection markers compared to the previous month. "One leader took great pride the other day when she told me she was down by three because she was using a new catheter which was eliminating infections."
Back at his desk, Pivirotto signs thank you notes to mail home and sends one sentence reminder emails to people who promised him information but haven't yet followed up. "Generally, everyone is prompt," he notes. "No one wants to get the dreaded reminder email."
Pivirotto is now rounding on ancillary staff too since they felt a bit slighted with all the rounding on nursing leaders. "I used to think I was close to staff," he says, "but now I really know the issues."
"Although I have been here for 21 years and spent 11 years in public accounting, I can tell you that I am a much better manager because of this process," he adds.
As a result of all the rounding and recognition, UMC Tucson has seen many units rise to the 90th percentile and above. They started a "90s club" award that everyone wants to join. What about all that time to round? "Some days are absolutely crazy, and the last thing I think I can do is round," says Pivirotto. "However, my assistant has orders not to ask me if I want to round. She makes the schedule before I can back out."
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