2022-2023 Project Portfolio

Our 2022–2023 projects focus on reducing OR disposable waste, improving patient care, reducing hospital length of stay, as well as developing a tool to quantify post-operative outcomes.

Projects	Operational Sponsor	Project Goal	Key Accomplishments
Think Twice Lab Reduction Dissemination	Dr. Darcy Dr. Newhall Dr. Wakeman Dr. Byrne	Reduce routine Vascular, PICU and PCC labs by 10% in one year Reduce blood draw	Maintained Lab Reduction in Colorectal and Trauma Disseminated the project among multiple divisions Publication
Department of Surgery Quality Dashboard	Elizabeth Levatino	Develop a tool that has the ability to quantify Department of Surgery post-operative events with the ability to drill down to both Division and Procedure level	Automated the process of monthly data updates Quantify outcomes that cross institutions and care teams Ability to identify new quality improvement projects
Green the Operating Room: Disposable Waste Reduction	Dr. Reavey Dr. Juviler	Develop a disposable Lean Pack with the ability to be utilized across different services and generate zero waste Reduce participating OR disposable pack waste and pack cost by 50% in 1 year	Developed a low-cost, disposable pack called Lean Pack Disseminated pack to Plastic, Trauma and Colorectal surgical services Decreased disposable cost for hand procedures and other applicable procedures Reduced waste
Patient Management: Duramorph Patient Flow	Dr. Prasad Dr. Juviler	Increase utilization of Duramorph, reduce the need for systemic opioids and reduce harm to patients Provide floor-like monitoring care for appropriate patients with Duramorph Real-time monitoring via Masimo	Established Improvement Team Engaged Clinical Engineering Pending Pilot Results
Chest Tube Management: The Role of Pathways	Dr. Nabozny Dr. Vella Dr. Juviler	Reduce chest tube dwell time in patients who receive chest tube for trauma-related mechanism by 24 hours per patient within 1 year of implementation	Established Improvement Team Developed real-time dashboards to track metrics for continued improvement Pending Pilot Results

"A joint project between pediatric surgery and the pediatric ICU at Golisano Children's Hospital was created with the goal of improving communication and reducing unnecessary interventions such as blood draws. Multidisciplinary care in the intensive care unit is critical to improving patient outcomes, and judicious use of blood tests and lab orders reduces possible harm and anxiety for patients, while delivering cost-effective care. The Value Incubator's support for our project has brought it to a new level, with a robust team supporting data-driven interventions while monitoring compliance and cost. The project has grown and matured much faster with VI support."

~ David Darcy, M.D. – Surgical Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit & Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

"Health care is one of the most expensive sectors in the United States budget. It also has a very large carbon footprint and produces a significant amount of trash that goes into our landfills. The Waste Reduction project decreases the cost of surgical care but more importantly significantly decreases the waste and trash generated. I am extremely proud to make this small difference in the effort to improve the future of our planet for us, our children, and all the generations to come."

~ Patrick Reavey, M.D.

"The Department of Surgery Quality Assurance team is very appreciative of the support of the Value Incubator team to develop a comprehensive Quality Dashboard. This tool will not only allow us the opportunity to automate the process of monthly data updates, but it will also allow us to quantify outcomes that cross institutions and care teams. There is no doubt that this dashboard will support development of future quality improvement projects and our mission to provide extraordinary surgical care."

~ Elizabeth Levatino