Since 2017, Pennsylvania Hospital’s leadership rounds — known as Proud Rounds — have evolved as institutional priorities have shifted in response to both internal and external feedback. Every two weeks, a group consisting of a member of Executive Leadership, a Patient Leader, a Service Director, and on occasion a physician leader, visit a hospital department. We first concentrated primarily on regulatory concerns, then turned our attention to strengthening our hospital-wide communication strategy. With our increased focus on sharing safety stories at the opening of every hospital meeting, Proud Rounds have changed to match. At each stage, though, our goals have remained the same: meet staff members where they are, encourage open and fruitful discussion about successes and challenges, and support the implementation of action plans to address areas of opportunity.
Because every person at PAH plays a crucial role in supporting a safe care environment for our patients, both frontline clinical teams and behind-the-scenes non-clinical teams are included in the rotation. Whether we’re meeting with the Food & Nutrition staff in Café 1751, the Labor & Delivery nurses upstairs, or the Hall-Mercer behavioral health team down the street, Proud Rounds give hospital leaders the chance to make meaningful connections with staff members whom we may not have the pleasure of collaborating with directly. I recently had the opportunity to visit our radiology and interventional radiology teams alongside Deborah Drayton, MSN, RN, (clinical director of Med-Surg and Oncology), Bonita Ball, MSN, RN, (nurse manager of the ICCU/Dialysis unit), and Kevin Baumlin, MD (chair of Emergency Medicine).
The rounds allow us to see each care environment through our patients’ eyes. By having staff share a safety story, discuss how they respond to patient needs, and describe how they foster discussions of safety in their department, we get a clearer vision of how we can help them problem-solve and ultimately enhance the patient experience. Plus, these rounds also showcase individual staff contributions and help us celebrate those who live our mission every day.
Thank you for enthusiastically sharing your work during these rounds. As our journey to high reliability continues, the hospital-wide commitment to patient safety we have witnessed during these rounds is vital. I am deeply grateful for your engagement, ingenuity, and investment in our patients and their families, and I am proud of the impact we collectively make every day.