UCLA Health
myUCLAhealth
School of Medicine
Toggle navigation
About Us
What is UCLA Health?
Contact Us
Your Feedback
Accountable Care Organization
Awards & Achievements
Careers
Careers for Physicians
Departments - Administrative
Departments - Clinical
Giving to UCLA Health
In the Community
340B Program
Industry Relations
Innovation
Leadership
News Releases
Price Transparency
Social Media
Contact
Your Feedback
Accountable Care Organization
Awards and Achievements
Careers
Careers for Physicians
Departments - Administrative
Departments - Clinical
Giving to UCLA Health
Industry Relations
Innovation
In the Community
340B Program
Leadership
News Releases
Price Transparency
Social Media
Subscribe to UCLA Health Newsletters
Conditions & Treatment
Health Library
Tests & Procedures
Drug Interaction Checker
Brain & Nervous System
Cancer
Children's Health
Heart Disease
Nutrition & Wellness
Pregnancy & Newborns
Orthopedics
Women's Health
Video Library
Cancer
Cardiovascular
Chiropractic
Cosmetic Surgery
Ear, Nose and Throat
Gastrointestinal
General Healthcare
Neurological
Obstetrics/Gynecology
See all videos...
Video Library
Locations
Hospitals
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica
UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital
Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital
Institutes and Centers
Take a Virtual Tour
Medical Offices/Clinics
Primary Care
Specialty Care
Urgent Care Centers
Outpatient Surgery Centers
Community Cancer Care
Imaging/Radiology Locations
Clinical Labs
Pharmacies
Interactive Map
Locations Coming Soon
UCLA Hospitals
Take a Virtual Tour
Primary Care Practices
Specialty Care Practices
Urgent Care Centers
Outpatient Surgery Centers
Other Locations
Interactive Map
Coming Soon!
Medical Services
For Patients & Visitors
Directions & Parking
Appointments: Call, Click, Come In
Admissions Information
Preparing For Surgery
Patient Services
Security & Parking Services
Office of the Patient Experience
For International Patients
Lodging & Nearby Services
Around Westwood
Gift Shops & Flowers
Health Resources
Log in to myUCLAhealth
About myUCLAhealth
Billing Information
Medical Records
Accountable Care Organization (ACO)
Covered California
Health Plans
Price Transparency
Interactive Patient Education Videos (Emmi)
FAQs
Calendar of Events
Secure Email Messages
Share Your Story
Health Publications
Vital Signs Newsletters
Health Tips for Parents
Contact Us
Appointments: Call, Click, Come in
Admissions Information
Advance Directive
Directions & Parking
Patient Services
Medical Records
myUCLAhealth
Smoke-Free
Publications
Health Resources
Around Westwood
Lodging
Preparing For Surgery
Patient-focused Technology Council
Health Forms
End of Life Option Act: Resources & Materials
Frequently Asked Questions
Secure Email Messages
Gift Shops
For Healthcare Professionals
Referring a Patient
Continuing Medical Education
Ethics Center
UCLA HealthLink
Physician to Physician Access Line (P2P)
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Clinical Informatics Fellowship
Academic Positions
Physician Careers
UCLA School of Dentistry
UCLA School of Nursing
Department of Nursing
Physician Publications
Physicians Update
Clinical Updates
U Magazine
Physician to Physician Access Line (P2P)
Physician Careers
Clinical Informatics Fellowship
Flu Resources for Healthcare Professionals
Publications
Multimedia
UCLAMDCHAT Webinars
Community Health Program Videos
iTunes
Download Our Apps
Mini Med School
Demystifying Cancer Forum
TEDx UCLA Videos
Tips from our Physical Therapists
Patient Stories
Real Questions
Webinars on Demand
Pediatric Grand Rounds
Community Health Program Videos
UCLAMDChat Webinars
iTunes
Download Our Apps
Mini Med School
Demystifying Cancer Forum
TEDx UCLA Videos
Tips From Our Physical Therapists
Patient Stories
Real Questions
Back Pain Management
Find a Provider
UCLA Health
myUCLAhealth
School of Medicine
About Us
About Us
About Us
Contact
Your Feedback
Accountable Care Organization
ACO - Anthem Blue Cross PPO
Anthem Blue Cross PPO ACO FAQ
Awards and Achievements
UCLA Health hospitals again rank No. 1 in Los Angeles, No. 7 nationally
UCLA Designated a National Magnet Hospital
Careers
Careers for Physicians
Departments - Administrative
Departments - Clinical
Giving to UCLA Health
Industry Relations
Innovation
In the Community
Community Health
340B Program
Leadership
Dr. John Mazziotta
Johnese Spisso
Dr. Kelsey Martin
News Releases
Price Transparency
Social Media
Subscribe to UCLA Health Newsletters
About Us
Contact
Your Feedback
Accountable Care Organization
Awards and Achievements
Careers
Careers for Physicians
Departments - Administrative
Departments - Clinical
Giving to UCLA Health
Industry Relations
Innovation
In the Community
340B Program
Leadership
News Releases
Price Transparency
Social Media
Subscribe to UCLA Health Newsletters
Home
About Us
News Releases
News Releases
Share this
Health and Behavior
UCLA receives six UC health quality grants to improve hospital care
07/12/2011
A key component of health care reform involves the improvement of quality, access and value when delivering health services, particularly for patients admitted to a hospital. To help meet these needs, the University of California established the
Center for Health Quality and Innovation
, which provides financial support for health quality initiatives across the UC health system.
The center has now awarded nine grants totaling $3.4 million to six UC institutions for projects aimed at better understanding and alleviating common obstacles to health quality, including frequent falls, excess radiation from scans, hospital-acquired conditions and issues of care coordination among multiple health professionals. Of the nine studies, six include UCLA health care experts as participants.
Rising above hospital falls
Between 2 percent and 15 percent of hospital patients in the U.S. experience falls. Nearly a third of these result in injuries, and sometimes even death. At Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, however, falls declined by 30 percent when the hospital instituted a program called "5Ps." In many hospitals across the country, nurses on rounds use an hourly process called "4Ps" to assess patients' pain, personal needs, positioning in a bed or chair, and the placement of items they might need. At UCLA, nurse Catherine Walsh, the accreditation manager for in-patient nursing and interventional areas for the UCLA Department of Nursing and a member of the department's falls prevention committee, created the "5Ps" program by adding "preventing falls" to the hourly rounding process. During each nursing visit, factors that could result in falls are identified and mitigated, reducing risk on an ongoing basis during hospitalization. Walsh and Dr. Teryl Nuckols, a UCLA associate professor of general internal medicine and health services research, who are co-leaders of the project, and their team received a grant of $375,000 to develop educational programs for health professionals and to expand the use of the "5Ps" program to other UCLA hospitals and UC medical centers.
Getting patients back on their feet
Stroke patients spend a long time in the hospital. At UCLA, the average patient stays for 18 days, from onset through rehabilitation. Other patients recovering from critical illnesses may stay even longer. All these extended stays result in dramatic muscle weakening — a loss of about 1 percent of muscle mass each day while on bed rest — underscoring the need to boost exercise programs to help patients recover. But many patients, due to lack of motivation, don't benefit from exercise programs, and when they do exercise, it's often not enough. A team headed by Dr. Bruce Dobkin, a UCLA professor of clinical neurology, received a $50,000 grant to create a program that involves the use a network of wireless sensors and a special exercise bike that can fit in a bed or on the floor. The program will allow health professionals to monitor activity in the hospital and at home, provide instant feedback to patients, and gather information to design more effective rehabilitative exercise programs. The sensors include accelerometers, developed by faculty at UCLA's Wireless Health Institute, that a patient can wear comfortably, and mathematical algorithms are used to interpret the type, quantity and quality of daily activities.
Improving care following hospital discharge
The transition between hospital and outpatient settings is a particularly vulnerable time for patients, as their condition is at risk of deteriorating shortly after they exit the hospital doors. In fact, about one-fifth of Medicare patients are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, with half of those readmissions considered preventable. By bringing together teams from different clinical sites to improve processes and learn from each other, patient care can be enhanced, particularly when patients transition from the hospital to a primary care provider. Such quality improvement programs assess patients for readmission risks when they enter the hospital, help patients and caregivers understand these risks, and follow up with both patients and physicians shortly after discharge. Dr. Nasim Afsarmanesh, an assistant clinical professor and director of quality and safety at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and her colleagues from other centers were granted $750,000 to create a quality improvement network that will collaborate to design and implement interventions to improve these important transitions of care.
Standardizing CT scan protocols
A computerized tomography (CT) scan can yield a tremendous amount of diagnostic information, but it is also important to assess the amount of radiation a patient receives from these scans. In order to reduce the total amount of radiation, and to meet the terms of a new California law requiring the reporting of radiation exposure, health practitioners need to set standards that allow for high-quality diagnostic CT scans with a minimum amount of radiation. To create necessary exposure standards, a team including UCLA radiology researchers Dr. Michael McNitt-Gray and Dr. Christopher Cagnon was given a grant of $750,000 to create standard protocols for CT scans of all types which will balance radiation exposure and image quality. The team will also establish educational programs for all UC medical centers to create practice standards that could be used nationwide.
Reducing radiation from unnecessary CT scans
Many hospitals will automatically order a CT scan of any patient admitted with blunt chest injuries. Yet many of these scans, while exposing patients to ionizing radiation, may not provide any benefit. One reason so many patients receive these scans is that information that could help health professionals decide whether such scans are necessary is scarce. Dr. William Mower, a UCLA professor of emergency medicine, and his colleagues received $375,000 to create a decision-making process that will help practitioners analyze key signs, allowing them to differentiate patients who could likely have injuries requiring a CT scan from those with no risk of those types of injuries. The grant will allow the researchers to identify the key clinical signs that a patient has internal chest injuries in order to make the selection process practicable in emergency and hospital settings.
Preventing pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis
Blood clots in the lung and the rest of the body afflict hundreds of thousands of Americans each year and rank among the most common preventable causes of death in hospital patients. Treatments to prevent these clots are available but are used only 30 to 50 percent of the time with eligible patients. Dr. Nasim Afsarmanesh, an assistant clinical professor and director of quality and safety at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and her colleagues received $750,000 to find ways to reduce the occurrence of these clots in hospitalized patients. The group will create teams at each UC medical center to collect data and create tools to enhance performance and prevention rates.
The UCLA Health
, which comprises the UCLA Hospital System and the UCLA Medical Group and its affiliates, has provided the best in health care and the most advanced treatment options to the people of Los Angeles and the world for more than half a century. UCLA's preeminence in health care — a strength that comes from the union of research, teaching and excellence in patient care — continues to be recognized nationally, internationally and in numerous forums. The clinical programs of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica–UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital, the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA, and UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital have produced a system of hospital care that is unparalleled in California. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is consistently ranked one of the top five hospitals in the nation and the best in the western United States by U.S. News & World Report, and the UCLA Medical Group has been ranked among the best in Southern California for four successive years by the Integrated Healthcare Association. UCLA physicians and hospitals will continue to be world leaders in the full range of care, from maintaining the health of families to the diagnosis and treatment of complex illnesses.
For more news, visit the
UCLA Newsroom
and
UCLA News|Week
and follow us on
Twitter
.
Media Contact:
Roxanne Moster
(310) 794-2264
rmoster@mednet.ucla.edu
Media Contact
Roxanne Moster
(310) 794-2264
rmoster@mednet.ucla.edu
Latest News
Health and Behavior
Low-income undocumented adults are largely locked out of health care in California, study finds
02/19/2019
Nine in 10 lack insurance.
Health and Behavior
Sexually transmitted infections are on the rise. Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself
02/14/2019
In a Q&A, UCLA’s Dr. Leena Nathan explains which infections sexually active people are more likely to be exposed to and to contract.
Health and Behavior
Electrical activity early in fruit flies’ brain development could shed light on how neurons wire the brain
02/12/2019
A study by UCLA neuroscientists suggests that the signals could help neurons find each other to form networks.
Health and Behavior
For recurrent glioblastoma, immunotherapy before surgery appears to help more than afterward
02/11/2019
“We now have a rational and logical way to develop immunotherapies going forward and a clinical development process for doing it,” said UCLA's Dr. Timothy Cloughesy.
Health and Behavior
Music therapy program at UCLA aims to help premature infants develop feeding skills
02/11/2019
Researchers worked with a family with triplets to study a lullaby device used in the intensive care unit.
Like Us on Facebook
Follow Us on Twitter
Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube
Follow us on Instagram
Connect with Us on LinkedIn
Follow us on Pinterest
Follow us on Flickr
Follow us on Sharecare
×
Sign in to myUCLAhealth