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Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota Recognized by Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota has received the Patient/Family Engagement Award from the Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety in recognition of continuing efforts to improve care through family communication.

Children's was recognized for the creation of its "Family Centered Team Rounding" approach for planning patients' hospital care daily from admission to discharge. The new model supports face-to-face conversations with everyone involved in a patient's case -- including loved ones.

This rounding program emphasizes the importance of the patient and family as integral members of the care giving team. It places a priority on direct interaction time between nurses, physicians, and family members. Since its implementation, the approach has helped boost Children's patient/family satisfaction rates and has improved efficiency and safety.

Children's implemented Family Centered Rounding after collaboration with physicians, nurses, staff, and families as part of an ongoing effort to improve patient care while also increasing the efficiency of the care delivery.

"Everything we do at Children's is focused on the goal of improving care for our patients and their families," said Phil Kibort, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Children's of Minnesota. "We understand that health care isn't a one way relationship. We need to involve everyone in the discussion and decision making to ensure the best outcomes."

The Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety is a partnership between the Minnesota Hospital Association, the Minnesota Medical Association, the Minnesota Department of Health and more than 50 other health care organizations.

About Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

Serving as Minnesota's children's hospital since 1924, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota has 332 staffed beds at its two hospitals in St. Paul and Minneapolis. An independent, not-for-profit health care system, Children's of Minnesota provides care through more than 14,000 inpatient visits and more than 200,000 emergency room and other outpatient visits every year. Children's is the only Minnesota hospital system to provide comprehensive care exclusively to children. For more information, visit www.childrensmn.org.

SOURCE Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota