RUMFORD – Rumford Hospital submitted four proposals for storyboard presentations at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement international quality improvement forum. The storyboards depict the processes that led to quality improvements in the hospital.

All four storyboard presentations were selected for display and discussion at the 2007 annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care, where they will be seen by about 6,000 quality improvement specialists from around the world.

Perhaps the most unusual of the four was the Caring Crafters Team, formed in response to a review of patient satisfaction data.

Based on the idea that hospital employees whose jobs do not directly impact patient care can improve patient satisfaction through small, thoughtful actions, the team was composed of patient registration personnel, an information technology support person, a medical staff coordinator and health information management staff among others.

The first outcome of the team effort were pinecone turkeys that adorned patient trays on Thanksgiving 2006. The team meets monthly after work hours to create themed gifts for patients.

In addition to the turkeys, the team has created Christmas angels, gift bags with coloring books and crayons for pediatric patients in the emergency department, bookmarks for maternity patients and fleece teddy bears for pediatric patients. The project, they said, has given them a sense of connection to the patients they likely will never see.

“I was very surprised that it was chosen,” said Deb Oliver, the hospital’s director of health information and quality and a member of the Caring Crafters. “It’s quite different from most of the quality initiatives you see at such a prestigious conference. Usually, IHI demands hard statistics that clearly demonstrate improvement.”

In addition to pleasing patients as evidenced by thank-you cards, the initiative has had a positive impact on the crafters themselves. As one of them described it, “When we first started with Caring Crafters, the goal was to make a card, craft or pediatric bag to brighten our patients’ day. Have we accomplished this? Yes! But Caring Crafters has meant more than this to me and, I believe, to my co-crafters. It has been an opportunity to give back to and connect with our patients. This has been especially nice because we do not work in direct care.

“After a special occasion, we come into work and ask, ‘Did the patients like what we made?’ It has also been an opportunity to enjoy our co-workers outside of the work environment. I believe that by working on this project it has made us a more cohesive group.”