19 ARH is launching the I-PASS program as part of the Kentucky Hospital Association’s KHATCH initiative, designed to improve communication during care transitions and improve patient safety. The I-PASS KHATCH Program, the first statewide program of its kind in the country, enables the Kentucky Hospital Association’s (KHA) member network to receive funded access to the I-PASS solution. ARH is implanting I-PASS across its 12 Kentucky- based hospitals to reduce preventable medical errors and advance patient safety statewide. Through the program, KHA will fund ARH’s complete implementation of the I-PASS bundle, which includes coaching, consultation, and a collection of technological tools to increase the quality and reliability of verbal and written handoffs. “Our goal is to provide the safest, highest- quality care for Kentuckians,” said Jeneen Carman, ARH System Chief Nursing Officer. “I-PASS equips our clinicians with a proven method to reduce miscommunication, a leading cause of medical errors, and improve outcomes for the communities we serve.” Whitesburg ARH health records analyst Jessica Martensson recalls experiencing “little oddities” — crepitus in her knees, skin bruising, dislocated joints and muscle tears — as early as 9 years old. As she moved from her teens to her 20s and then her 30s, her health issues worsened, but doctors provided no answers. Martensson, now 36, had all but given up. But when she moved from her native Tennessee to her mother’s hometown of Whitesburg, she found something unexpected — hope. “That’s when I started seeing April Fleming, a nurse practitioner at the Whitesburg Clinic,” she said. “She listened to me — to all the things that had basically been dismissed my whole life — and said, ‘You’re too young to experience all of this.” Fleming suspected Martensson had Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a genetic condition that weakens the body’s connective tissue, potentially affecting cartilage, bones, blood, fat, skin, joints, muscles and blood vessels. A genetic counselor confirmed her suspicions and also diagnosed Martensson’s 3-year-old daughter as well as her mother with the same condition. Though there is no cure for the disease, Martensson now knows how to better manage her health and to care for her daughter. “It’s because of April,” she said. “She not only advocated for me, but she also reminded me of how important it is to advocate for yourself. No one has ever stood up for me and fought for me like that. “No one has ever cared like April cared.” IN THEIR OWN WORDS Enhancing patient safety with I-PASS WE ARE INVESTING IN THE FUTURE
