QuIIN Featured Practice: UT LBJ Pediatrics
QuIIN Member: Laura Ferguson, MD, FAAP
City, State: Houston, TX
Contact: Laura.E.Ferguson@uth.tmc.edu
Practice Setting: Urban
Type of Practice: Medical school or parent university
Practice Overview
This practice is an academic residency primary care practice that cares for a large Hispanic population and also children from the local community. It is situated in a community hospital and staffed by 5 primary care pediatricians. The practice was highlighted in a 2001 article in the journal Clinical Pediatrics because of its unique vertically integrated care system. Residents who care for patients at the practice also care for children in the nursery and hospital at the same time, providing much more continuity.
Dr Ferguson very much enjoys being a part of QuIIN.
Quality Improvement Experience
The practice has been actively involved in quality improvement for many years (4-10). They see quality improvement as striving to improve patient care such that it is state of the art, evidence based, patient centered, culturally appropriate, cost-effective care in an efficient manner.
The idea that quality improvement can make their work more pleasant by knowing that they are doing some things well (which is sometimes surprising to those doing quality improvement) is reinforcement for looking for other things to improve. This practice finds it fun to learn QI methods and skills for both teaching and inspiring them to try new things almost every day.
Safe and Healthy Beginnings
Dr Ferguson's practice was involved in QuIIN's pilot project, Safe and Healthy Beginnings (SHB). Both the newborn nursery and primay care practice site showed excellent improvement and really enjoyed the learning sessions. The SHB project was excellent in helping to start engaging staff by assembling a team of physicians, nurses, other ancillary personnel and clerical staff. They are continuing to work on SHB processes particularly in regards to breastfeeding. They are seeking to replicate this in the realm of developmental screening as well.
EQIPP
LBJ Pediatrics is
preparing to start an AAP EQIPP module for nutrition in the next 6 months.
QuIIN
LBJ Pediatrics participated in the ADHD brochure on medication abuse distribution project through QuIIN. In addition, the practice partcipated in QUIIN CME calls on motivational interviewing and the medical home for chronically ill children.
QI Accomplishments
LBJ Pediatrics has improved the education of nurses and residents in breastfeeding and detection of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. They have instituted a policy for automatic transcutaneous bile monitor readings prior to discharge for all newborns and adopted its use in the outpatient clinic as well. They have worked toward enforcement of an already exisiting policy for encouragement of breastfeeding in the delivery room and automatic lactation consultation for all first time breastfeeding moms and adolescent moms.
They are most proud of their improvement in the number of mothers attempting breastfeeding during post partum period and an improved comfort of physicians and nurses with supporting breastfeeding.
Past Featured Practices