The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #48314

Lynn M. Deitrick, RN, PhD¹, Yufei Xiang, MD, MS¹, Robert J. Laskowski, MD, MBA², Martyn O. Hotvedt, PhD³, and Lawrence C. Kleinman, MD, MPH¹. (1) Health Studies Unit, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, 17th & Chew Sts., Allentown, PA 18105, 610-402-2293, lynn.deitrick@lvh.com, (2) Chief Medical Officer, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network and Associate Dean Medical Education, Penn State University, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, Cedar Crest and I 78, Allentown, PA 18105, (3) Director, Center for Educational Development and Support, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, 17th & Chew, Allentown, PA 18105

Introduction: The grant "Medicine in the Community: Learning to Serve and Innovate," funds the Center for Educational Development and Support (CEDS) of Lehigh Valley Hospital, a premier academic community hospital in Allentown, Pa. CEDS conducts a diverse portfolio of educaional activities in an ongoing collaboration between leadership, administration and clinicians. The portfolio is designed to modify the institutional culture so that it embraces roles for clinicians as:leaders, teachers, champions of quality, clinical innovators, health advocates, community servants and community leaders. Individual programs are evaluated with measurable objectives not specifically linked to broader goals. Current evaluation models are inadequate to evaluate such a portfolio in health care.

Purpose: We present a model that integrates evaluation of specific programmatic activities and their conjoint impact on the hospital culture.

Measurement Model: Individual programs are forces operating on a lever--the fulcrum is hospital leadership and resources--that attempts to move culture. Prospective cohort outcome studies are nested within the overall evaluation using outcomes specific for each project. Hospital culture will be measured sequentially by a medical anthropologist hired for this purpose. Observational data about staff behaviors, quantitative surveys of attitudes, experiences and expectations will complement the program-specific outcome data.

Conclusions: The model identifies the specific benefits of individual programs and their conjoint impact on culture change. A key insight was that specific attribution by program becomes unimportant when evaluating the portfolios. These data will allow hospital leadership to formulate future activities that complement the hospital's mission of excellence, innovation and service.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this presentation, health administrators will be able to
• describe how to integrate evaluation of individual programs with broader institutional goals.
• discuss an approach to measure change in institutional culture over time.

Keywords: Evaluation, Culture

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: employment