Prince George Hospital Case Study

Prince George’s Hospital is still making improvements to reach the desired level of quality care provided to patients with conditions such as heart failure, heart attack, surgical infection prevention and pneumonia (Lurie et al., 2009). In spite of the efforts the hospital has made towards quality improvement, there are still cases of patients developing complications. Complications lead to increased readmission, hospital cost, length of stay in the hospital as well as increased mortality. In Prince George’s Hospital, the monthly mortality rate is 11.6% compared to Maryland whose mortality rate stands at 10.7%. Moreover, the monthly readmission rate in the Prince George hospital is 29.5% compared to the state of Maryland that has a total readmission rate of 25% (Hospital-Data.Com, 2003). According to Cite Health (2008), in comparison to other hospitals in the state of Maryland, heart failure patients in Prince George’s hospital are likely not to be getting proper discharge instructions. See the graph below. Heart Failure Patients Given Discharge Instructions Prince Georges Hospital 34.00% Prince George's County 63.00% Maryland 69.51% United States 60.95% (Cite Health, 2008). Heart Failure Patients Given Smoking Cessation Advice The figure below represents the percentage of heart failure patients given smoking cessation advice or counseling. The sample size for this measure was 76 patients (Cite Health, 2008). Prince Georges Hospital 80.00% Prince George's County 90.75% Maryland 93.53% United States 81.61% (Cite Health, 2008). Project planning Owing to the significant risk heart failure patients face when they do not receive quality care, there is a need to review the issue of low quality of care that is offered to patients with right side heart failure at Prince George’s hospitals. To be able to assess the quality of care provided to heart failure patients, I conducted a literature review to determine how nurses in other hospitals who practice high quality of care do to manage patients with right side heart failure. I gathered information and developed a power point presentation for nurses that explains the causes of the right-side heart failure, its implication on health, how early signs and symptoms can be recognized as well as preventive measures, treatment, and the statistics that are associated with the disease conditions. Moreover, I will evaluate the nurses by giving them post-test questions to test whether they acquired the much knowledge during teaching. Literature Review Quality care provided by specialist nurses has been associated with improved outcome of treatment for individuals with right side heart failure. The move has significantly led to a reduced length of stay in the hospital as well as unplanned admission (Harjola et al., 2016). Most patients develop right side heart failure because of heart valve diseases, lung diseases, and bronchitis, which block blood from the pulmonary artery. Moreover, clots in the pulmonary artery and congenital heart diseases are known to cause right side heart failure. The utilization of cardiac rehabilitation clinics in some facilities has made it easier for nurses to check drug usage in a patient, given that most patients with the condition are usually on drugs (Drogalis-Kim et al., 2016). The author suggests that continuing education will help nurses manage such patients by equipping them with proper patient education. Consequently, fostering partnership …show more content…
(2014), right side heart failure is defined by a vicious cycle of acute decomposition, worsening symptoms and subsequent stabilization following hospitalization. However, since patients feel they have recovered after admission, they are likely to feel they no longer require more tablets. The move results in poor drug compliance leading to re-admission and re-stabilization of the patient. The author calls upon physicians, nurses and other healthcare providers to educate the patients on drug compliance and the need for them to continue taking the drugs (De Vette et al., 2014). Physicians should offer patients with right side heart failure health education and allow them to participate in the treatment process. They should be informed about the condition as well as its management. Drifting from seen the patient as a passive recipient of health information and allowing them to be active partners in health management can empower them. Most patients benefit from health education and can monitor their weight and manage their diuretic medication as long as they know when they are required to contact a physician or a