Olympic Medical Center’s Chief Medical Officer Scott Kennedy, MD, recognized seven internal audit team members at a recent board of commissioners meeting for their performance in conducting internal audits. Olympic Medical Center, based in Port Angeles, Washington, operates a group of more than a dozen medical facilities in the state of Washington.
“This incredible team built an audit program that looks impartially at key process in OMC to observe patient services, interview managers and staff, and review documentation and policies to identify whether any gaps exist between what we’re doing and what we want to be doing,” said Dr. Kennedy.
Those honored included:
- Brenda Tassie, RN, medical/surgical/pediatrics unit
- Sam Reynolds, senior analyst, clinical informatics
- Paula Wahl, RN, performance improvement/risk reduction specialist, quality support services
- Sandy Ulf, RN, clinical quality coordinator, quality support services
- Carol Kittrick, RN, liaison-referral-education coordinator, Olympic Medical Home Health
- Holly Wickersham, operations director, Olympic Medical Physicians
- Michelle Samples, specialty clinic manager, Olympic Medical Center Physicians
Since 2016, the internal auditor group of the Olympic Medical Center led and completed more than 25 internal audits that touched almost every area at OMC to help assure excellence in healthcare, according to a statement issued by Olympic.
Achieving Results
Audits on medication security, the timeout process, sterile processing, and echocardiograms helped provide assurance of the safety and robustness of the processes in these areas. Audits on the discharge process help assure that OMC provides solid continuity of care as our patients move among different healthcare providers and facilities.
Audits on document control conducted across the organization helped OMC to achieve its International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification.
An audit last year on the immediate use steam sterilization process (IUSS) confirmed that OMC’s special processes for disinfecting equipment needed in emergent cases is robust and limited only for those cases that are true emergencies. After the internal audit on IUSS, DNV surveyors arrived and reviewed the IUSS process as well. DNV affirmed the findings of OMC’s internal audit team.
“We’ve been so fortunate to have such knowledgeable and thorough team members on the internal audit team at OMC. They’ve truly helped with continuous improvements in quality, safety and the patient experience,” added Dr. Kennedy. 