ROCHESTER MADE MEANS QUALITY
GRQC Newsletter | Summer 2024
In this issue:
2023 Award Winners receiving their GRQC Performance Excellence Award!
2024 Performance Excellence Awards Applicants
GRQC's Annual Performance Excellence Awards and Showcase is the premier event in the Greater Rochester Area highlighting organizations that are accomplishing the best work in the field of Quality.
Local organizations can submit their entry applications in the first half of the year, while qualified performance excellence professionals review and score those entries over the summer and early fall.
The winners will be announced October 16 at our live in-person award ceremony!
Hot off the press, here are this years' applicants!
​Organizational Excellence Category
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Oak Orchard
Seeking a state of no waste -
Rochester Regional Hospital
Using non-pharmacological Interventions To Decrease Residents on Antipsychotic Medications
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Customer Experience Category
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Flight Wine Bar
Improve the reputation and sales through customer experiences and satisfaction. -
Golisano Children's Hospital
Family Connection Programs' “Buddy Program” initiative -
Golisano Children's Hospital
More than Hair: Improving Healthcare Equity Through Haircare
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​Team Excellence Category
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​Golisano Children's Hospital
​Cardiac Arrest Prevention- Reducing Cardiac Arrest Associated Mortality -
University of Rochester Medical Center
Improving access to outpatient CT examination by reducing backlog -
Hillside
Agency Fleet Vehicle Utilization -
Hillside
Implementing a Tracking and Notification System for MCO Authorizations and Care Manager Notifications for HCBS services -
Lifetime Benefits Solutions
Reimbursement File Automation & Process Improvement Initiative -
Seneca Foods
Beneficiary Designation in 401(k) Plan -
Paychex
Paychex Flex® Perks -
Heritage Christian Services
Reimagining Day Habilitation Services for Long Term Viability -
University of Rochester Medical Center
Improving Prostate MR Image Quality Collaboratively -
University of Rochester Medical Center
URMC Surgical Value Incubator -
University of Rochester Medical Center
Improving BCMA Compliance Across URMC -
Rochester Regional Health
Treat To Target Inpatient Discharge Planning -
Rochester Regional Health
A Rural Hospital’s Approach to Addressing Heart Failure Patient Care Gaps -
Rochester Regional Health
Unity Hospital Perioperative OR Cost Containment -
Rochester Regional Health
Huddling Together:​ A Relentless Focus on Medication Safety​ -
Noyes Health
Addition of pharmacy medication reconciliation technician​
How to Get Involved:
If your organization didn't submit an application this year because you felt there weren't any projects that would "win," please consider joining GRQC as a member so that you can surround yourself and your team with Quality and Performance Excellence all year long through our easy-to-access programs.
Admittedly, applying and investing in Performance Excellence does take time, and most organizations will tell you that they need more. However, winning a Performance Excellence Award is a valuable way to demonstrate your expertise to your clients, community, and stakeholders. It also provides much-needed recognition for your teams and employees who worked hard to carefully document and execute some of the best quality projects in the Greater Rochester Area.
When a team wins an award, the energy at our annual Performance Excellence Awards and Showcase event is inspiring and palpable.
This years' event will be hosted at the Memorial Art Gallery on Wednesday October 16, from 4:30 to 7:30pm.
Tickets for this years' event will be available soon, so stay tuned! In the meantime, you can learn more about the awards themselves or about previous winners by visiting:
Member Spotlight: UR Medicine​
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The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) is one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers. It forms the centerpiece of the University of Rochester’s health research, teaching and patient care missions.
The University of Rochester Medical Center is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian, and nonprofit research university.
The medical center includes Strong Memorial Hospital, the Eastman Institute for Oral Health, the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, with its faculty practice (University of Rochester Medical Faculty Group), and the University of Rochester School of Nursing.
UR Medicine has been a long-standing member of GRQC and perennial leader in local quality initiatives.
In GRQC’s 2023 Performance Excellence Awards, they won the following:
-Gold Award for Team Excellence – Interdisciplinary Approach to Administer Timely Antibiotics Preventing Complications of Sepsis
-Platinum Award for Team Excellence – Post-operative Opioid Stewardship Management Project
Visit urmc.rochester.edu to learn more.
Local Quality News:
Summer Networking Event!
GRQC and ASQ are the two most influential groups in the Greater Rochester Area in terms of supporting and celebrating Quality and Performance Excellence best practices. They’re teaming up to host a Summer Networking Event, open to the public and members of either organization alike!
Please join us on Thursday August 15 to connect with other local professionals in the quality community and build some relationships that drive impact for your business and your career!
​More Info:
Local Quality News:
Lean Six Sigma Quality for Leaders course is returning to Rochester this fall!
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GRQC and MCC are partnering to provide this incredible introductory course about the topics of Lean Six Sigma, Quality, and Performance Excellence.
When local organizations send (virtually) their employees to this fast-paced crash course, they’re sure to return with a deeper understanding of what drives quality and ideas on implementing them within their own company’s workflows immediately.
Participants will earn a Lean Six Sigma Quality for Leaders Basic Certificate!
This years’ course will feature a live kick-off and a live capstone project, with 24 hours of self-guided interactive learning modules in between.
For more details and to register, please visit:
https://campusce.monroecc.edu/monroecc/course/course.aspx?C=867
National Quality News
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The national Performance Excellence Network (PEN) recently produced this fantastic article about Best Practices for Effective Communication
Note: GRQC Recently partnered with the Performance Excellence Network (PEN) to provide you with this great content! Learn more about that partnership here: GRQC.org
*reprinted with permission*
By Brain Lassiter
President, Performance Excellence Network
​Say What?? 18 Best Practices for Effective Communication – May 2024
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Plan the outcome you want, then design a communication plan to achieve that. The plan should include key messages, a variety of communication vehicles that address a variety of employees’ needs, and measures to gauge effectiveness. As Forbes writer Christiana Jolaoso says, effective communication should ask three questions: 1) what is the goal; 2) who needs to hear this? And 3) how should I pass the message across? Indeed, communication should be systematic.
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Use many communication channels to reach different audiences in different ways: print, digital, verbal, social, and so forth. Given today’s different stakeholder preferences (including differences in how generations consume information), leaders do need to communicate seven (or 12) times in seven (or 12) different ways!
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To promote clarity, use simple language. Most of the time, writing or speaking at the sixth-grade level is far more effective than using big, complex words and phrases at the post-grad level — those often get misunderstood. Simplicity connects people. Bruce Kasanoff calls it the “Theory of Seven,” suggesting that you should tailor messages as if everyone hearing it is seven years old. The selection of words matters; keep it simple.
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On the other hand, expand your vocabulary. Sometimes you need to provide synonyms — different ways of saying the same thing to reach different audiences. And the more words you know, the more tools you have in your communication toolbox.
Read the rest of the article (including steps 5 - 18):
https://performanceexcellencenetwork.org/pensights/say-what-18-best-practices-for-effective-communication-may-2024/
In Case You Missed It: GRQC's Performance Excellence Forum
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Excellence in Performing Arts
In May of this year, Jamey Leverett took GRQC members on a wonderful journey, describing how Rochester’s Draper Center for Dance Education seeks and achieves excellence. As the Artistic Director for the Draper Center, Jamey is uniquely qualified to speak on how Quality principles can be applied to the arts through live demonstrations and a focus on training processes for aspiring dancers.
View the entire video here: https://www.grqc.org/event-presentations
In Case You Missed It: GRQC's Performance Excellence Forum​
Planning, Learning, Improving - the Value of After-Action Reviews
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In this discussion, Dr. Joann Sternke shared with GRQC members some best-practice tips on conducting an “After Action Review.” This process and tool can be used individually, but it’s also a foundation for debriefing with your team and creating a system for process improvement that's easy and effective. Dr. Sternke explored the power it brings to the “S” of PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act). Using an After-Action Review process, you’ll be more effective in learning from the past, focusing yourself and your team moving forward, and harnessing change.
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View the entire video here: https://www.grqc.org/event-presentations
Join our Performance Excellence Community
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Are you passionate about performance excellence? GRQC is for you!
Membership in GRQC includes many benefits, and is open to any organization or individual regardless of:
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Sector
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Experience with Performance Excellence / Quality Improvement
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Size of your organization
​Many members say that their favorite part of GRQC is being connected to the local performance excellence community, and creating relationships with the right people to help their organizations to achieve greatness.
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Volunteer with GRQC!
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Would you like to partner with GRQC to advance performance excellence in the community without making a long-term commitment? We have just the thing for you - volunteering to help one of our committees! GRQC has eight committees who help us achieve our strategic objectives. These committees are staffed by GRQC Board members and volunteers. We invite you to visit our new Volunteer Opportunity website page and reach out to any of the committee contacts to learn more or to express your interest. Volunteer opportunities are open to GRQC members and non-members alike. We'd love to have you join us!