FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 5, 1998

CONTACT: David Plummer (202) 606-1800 dlplumme@opm.gov

JAMES A. HALEY VETERANS HOSPITAL, TAMPA, FLORIDA, TO RECEIVE FEDERAL QUALITY AWARD

Washington, D.C. -- The James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Tampa, Florida, will receive a Merit Award during the Presidents Quality Award Program ceremony for improving customer service and saving tax dollars.

The award will be presented by U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Janice R. Lachance on:

Director Lachance also will present the Defense Contract Management Command Long Island with the Presidential Award for Quality, the governments top honor for quality improvement.

Since the early 1990s, the concepts of continuous quality improvement (CQI) have been in place at James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, a 507-bed tertiary teaching hospital that includes a 180-bed nursing home. It provides a full range of primary and specialized care, as well as rehabilitative and extended care. It is one of the busiest in the VA system, with over 500,000 outpatient visits last year. Located in Tampa, the hospital enjoys a close working relationship with the University of South Florida College of Medicine.

Using a team approach to enhance customer service and promote the concepts of CQI has been important to the hospitals success in improving patient care. Employee training in concepts of CQI is widespread. Service and efficiency enhancements are many and include creation of model primary care programs, reductions of outpatient waiting times and a decrease in unscheduled visits from 68 percent to 30 percent of total visits.

Team efforts also saved $187,000 in the Office of Workers Compensation program charge-back costs and created a modified duty program for injured employees. Another dramatic improvement was in the area of reporting x-ray findings: a decrease from eight days to only one day.

Those efforts have paid off in other ways. Employee teams have received a Hammer Award and three Scissors Awards. In 1997, the hospital and outpatient clinics received the Department of Veterans Affairs top award for organizational excellence, the Robert F. Carey Quality Award trophy. In addition, the Local Partnership Council, which facilitates hospital leadership partnering with the Florida Nurses Association and American Federation of Government Employees, was recognized with OPMs 1997 National Partnership Award.

Challenges faced by health care organizations in delivering quality patient care are numerous. The visionary leadership and employee innovation demonstrated at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital show that it continues to meet those challenges as it sets new goals for exceptional customer service.

Media interested in attending the award ceremony or receiving additional information should contact OPMs Mike Orenstein at 202-606-1800.

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