Hospitals work to meet the needs of their communities by launching innovative care initiatives. These creative programs bridge gaps in care, enhance health equity, and integrate new technologies into daily practice.
Here are six innovative hospitals to know:
Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola (Fla.). Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola employs innovative techniques to tackle healthcare insecurity for mothers and infants. The Women's Care Center team addresses the main obstacles for mothers who need prenatal and post-pregnancy care, which includes lack of transportation, insurance, financial resources and child care. They employ rideshare services to help patients attend their appointments, provide pack-n-plays for safe sleep, and are launching an iron-rich food and education bag program. Research conducted by the University of Florida obstetrics and gynecology residency program has shown a significant decrease in the number of missed clinic appointments.
Ascension St. Vincent's (Jacksonville, Fla.). Ascension's cardiovascular program is meeting the needs of its communities by focusing on screening tools, treatments and clinical trials to improve patient's quality of life. The system has created Heart Failure University, a free program for heart patients designed to manage conditions. It also launched a heart attack response team and has decreased mortality rates for high-risk patients. The system also became the first in the region to offer TAVR in 2012. St. Vincent also uses new technology to advance cardiac diagnostic imaging, improve its cardiac MRI program, allow physicians to properly diagnose angina and allow physicians to evaluate heart blockages and blood flow to establish treatment plans. The system also has a robust clinical trial program, providing first-line access to new breakthroughs. It is one of five facilities in the nation enrolling patients in a trial study on how artificial intelligence can be used to treat AFib.
Children’s Hospital New Orleans. The Children's Hospital New Orleans works to address gaps in the existing care infrastructure with its ThriveKids Student Wellness program, an innovative program that addresses the emotional and physical wellbeing of New Orlean's youth. The program is providing medical and mental healthcare to more than 100,000 students across 180 school campuses. The hospital is an epicenter of innovation and quality care, overcoming the national shortage of child psychiatrists and employing a population health approach to health.
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center (Baton Rouge, La.). Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, part of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, has spent 10 years dedicated to researching a test to aid in the evaluation of patients with sepsis. The hospital has partnered with Cytovale, a health technology company, to develop a blood test making sepsis risk stratification a reality. Our Lady of the Lake is the first hospital in the world to have a sepsis risk test and implement it into daily practice. It allows healthcare teams to utilize resources while also minimizing waste. The system also utilizes artificial intelligence to detect hemorrhage or large vessel occlusion in acute stroke.
RWJBarnabas Health Children's Specialized Hospital (West Orange, N.J.). RWJBarnabas Health's Center for Discovery, Innovation and Development is part of Children's Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J. The program aims to develop, innovate, and discover solutions that advance the lives of young people with special healthcare needs with disruptive positive change. The program addresses social determinants of health, enhances quality of life, forms a neurodiverse workforce, supports the transition to adulthood, expands community integration, employs biometrics and medical technology, educates professionals and families in underserved regions, advances virtual health, incorporates AI and machine learning, and more. Along with many other recent innovations, the program has effectively integrated a data-based social determinants of health program into routine medical care and therapy, partnered with Find Help to create a robust resource directory, and expanded its partnership with Moms Helping Moms to assist low-income families.
Stafford (Va.) Hospital. Mary Washington's Stafford Hospital is operating a virtual program that is considered a new frontier of nursing thanks to the resulting decreased demand on nurses' in-person time. Mary Washington Healthcare recently implemented an innovative centralized care coordination model, which consists of a hub-and-spoke design. The new model aims to reduce the observation care ratio and length of stay. The system is using new software, evidence-based clinical guidelines, and Epic EHR to maximize workflow efficiency.