The Nebraska Medical Center is one of just five hospitals nationwide to earn a new award that recognizes a commitment to patient and employee safety.
The 5 Rings Award was presented to medical center leaders on June 25 by IntelliCentrics, Inc., a leader in operational security and compliance management services.
The Nebraska Medical Center uses Reptrax, a system IntelliCentrics designed to help hospitals identify and credential vendor representatives as well as document their visits.
“It’s important for a number of reasons to have vendors on our campus,” said Jaime Krueger-Gomez, manager of asset management. “It’s also very important that we make sure everyone who visits sensitive areas of the hospital are in the right place. Reptrax helps us do that.”
“Hospitals have a duty to their patients to know who is entering their facilities and why they are there, both to prevent infections as well as to improve safety and security. The 5 Rings Award program was created to help establish best practices for how hospitals can make their facilities safer,” said Mike Sheehan, CEO of IntelliCentrics. “We hope that these hospital winners will serve as role models for other hospitals as they take steps to improve safety and compliance.”
Hospitals were ranked based on:
- volume of visitors;
- percentage of visitors who complied with hospital credentialing requirements;
- ongoing improvement to compliance scores;
- steps taken to educate staff about policy enforcement; and
- regular communications with vendors about expectations.
“If hospital staff sees a vendor with a badge generated from Reptrax, they know that the person has accepted our policies and procedures,” said Bob Ruis, manager of purchasing at The Nebraska Medical Center. “When that badge is vertical like our hospital badge, we know they have turned in the required documentation to be in patient care areas within our facility.”
“Credentialing and ensuring that visitors have the appropriate documentation is only part of the challenge. The remainder is the cultural change required by organizations to hold visitors to the same standard they hold their employees,” Sheehan said.
Out of the 4,500 hospitals IntelliCentrics serves, The Nebraska Medical Center is one of only five to earn the 5 Rings Award. The Nebraska Medical Center’s Office of Development also received a $5,000 donation from IntelliCentrics.