Headwaters Health Care Centre has been selected to participate in the Emergency Department Process Improvement Program

PIP), the Ontario government’s strategy to address the challenges patients face in getting timely emergency department care.

“While Headwaters emergency wait times are better than provincial targets we are always trying to improve the quality of care we provide for our patients,” said Headwaters CEO Cholly Boland. “This is an excellent opportunity to better serve our community.”

Headwaters will participate in the program from May to December 2010. The project is set to include 90 hospitals throughout the province by 2011.

PIP looks at operational improvements from the patient’s perspective, from their arrival in Emergency through admission to discharge and identifies opportunities for improvement. The program also looks at hospital culture and its ability to support change. It also measures hospital staff and physician performance daily, holding everyone accountable to clearly understood roles and responsibilities.

PIP is a hospital-wide initiative that will help Headwaters identify and remove barriers patients experience in receiving care in a hospital setting. Headwaters’ PIP team includes physicians, nurses, X-ray and laboratory.