Even this year we are in Champions.

JCI Accreditation. Global Excellence.

In december 2013 Fondazione Poliambulanza gained international recognition and fulfilled the International Joint Commission’s (JCI) standards. JCI is one of the most renowned and important independent institutions worldwide, evaluating performances, services and health care facilities. On a total of 650 Italian hospitals, only 18 have received such an important recognition from ICJ. It represents an important step as evidence of the quality and the the high standard of the treatments and the hospital care provided by Poliambulanza.

The recognition of excellence is unique of its kind. As a rule, the majority of hospitals are awarded prizes only after a proper examination of the administrative protocols. On the contraty, the ICJ is in the front line and its collaborators personally check safety standards, efficiency and organization of the hospitals tested.

In December 2013 Poliambulanza was checked by the Commission. The survey was made by members coming from the USA and it involved every ward of the hospital, as well as every working environments and even the fire regulations as for the security protocols, in order to check the correspondence with all the 323 standars of reference and the other 1000 elements of the survey. The inspection and the preparation before it, have been an important occasion of growth for the hospital, leading to a clinical, administrative, technological and organizative improvement.
At the end of the inspection, the ICJ decided to award Fondazione Poliambulanza the recognition of its excellence which lasts for 3 years, up to and including 2016. As evidence of the reliability and integrity of the American Commission, a future reappointment of Fondazione Poliambulanza will imply a new punctual analysis in the field.
For possible communication to the Joint Commission: www.jointcommissioninternational.org/contact-us/contact-jci/

Top Employers Certification. Organizational Excellence.

Since 2014, Fondazione Poliambulanza is one of the few italian companies which have gained the Top Employers certification. The Top Employers Institute, working within 70 countries worldwide, usually makes its decision after a close examination of all the areas of the HR department (such as remuneration policies, working conditions, formation, career opportunities, performance management, corporate culture and so on).
This means that the Hospital has demonstrated the ability to push for better management policies and staff development.
Top Employers certification represents an important aknowledgment of Fondazione Poliambulanza’s attention to all its collaborators, by sharing common values and providing them with continuous training courses and professional development opportunities as well as “work life balance” policies and interventions aimed at granting welfare in the worklace.
At the root of these choices, there is a great awareness of what the quality of heath care actually is: a succesfull combination of occupational skills and human features of the workers. A further awareness which regards the importance of a challenging workplace.

ESMO Certification. Oncology on a Human Scale

For the 2012/2013 three-year period and the 2015-2017 one, Fondazione Poliambulanza’s Oncology Operating unit has gained an important prize coming from ESMO, the first Society of Medical Oncology in Europe, operating in favour of the progress of this speciality regarding a new multidisciplinary approach for the treatment and the cure of cancer. 

After a close examination, ESMO grants such a recognition to few selected centers in Europe which show an efficient and continuous integration between specific treatments for cancer (such as oncology, radiotherapy, nuclear edicine, surgery, orhopedics and neurosurgery) and the supportive care into medical oncology in order to satisfy the health need of a person requiring that all the symptoms be considered and not only the palliative cure in the strict sense. The point is to improve medical oncology by taking care of the patient to ensure continuity of care. Those objectives are reached not only within Poliambulanza but also in the surroundings through structures which carry out services of integrated home care assistance (ADI) and hospitalization in Hospice in structures as the Domus Salutis.

It is important to point out another actor concerning the acknowledgment of ESMO. That is the constant commitment of the whole team to design and develop innovative projects which fitted in with patient’s main needs and to publish new and remarkable scientific studies regarding the continuity of care.

Fondazione ABIO. An Hospital Suitable for Children.

Poliambulanza was regarded by ABIO (Hospital Children Association) to be “an Hospital suitable for children”, thus taking part in a project which involves all the hospitals holding a paediatric ward. In order to safeguard children’s health and to reduce to a minimum the risk of trauma associated with hospitalization, in 2008 the ABIO Italian Foundation and the Società italiana di pediatria (SIP) drafted the “Charter of children and adolescentes’ rights in hospital”, summing up in ten key points the most important aspects of their hospitalization. In particular, the Charter states the proper shift from the idea of treating illness to that of nursing. Consequently. ensuring the most advanced medical treatment is not enought, but it must be Poliambulanza was regarded by ABIO (Hospital Children Association) to be “an Hospital suitable for children”, thus taking part in a project which involves all the hospitals holding a paediatric ward. In order to safeguard children’s health and to reduce to a minimum the risk of trauma associated with hospitalization, in 2008 the ABIO Italian Foundation and the Società italiana di pediatria (SIP) drafted the “Charter of children and adolescentes’ rights in hospital”, summing up in ten key points the most important aspects of their hospitalization. In particular, the Charter states the proper shift from the idea of treating illness to that of nursing. Consequently. ensuring the most advanced medical treatment is not enought, but it must be admitted that also guaranteeing suitable environments, or moments of recreation as together with the certainty of their parents’ constant presence and support can’t be missed out as well. 

Starting from the Charter of rights, a manual has been drawn up. It gives guidelines to recognize if an hospital could be considered “suitable for children” or not. In line with the manual, four key areas have been identified: 

-welcome and support

-information and childrens, adolescents and their family members’ rights

-continuity of care and integration

-specificity of treatments
 

For each and every area above mentioned there are measurable standards which have to be respected by the paediatrics ward in order to support the delicate moment of children and adolescents’ hospitalization. 

The Fondazione Poliambulanza’s Operative unit of paediatrics was regarded as “an Hospital suitable for children”, showing its adherence to the principles behind the Charter of rights, providing young patients with the most advanced medical treatments, along with a structure with their needs and safeguard in mind.

In this context, Poliambulanza’s main objective is to go on with its unflagging commitment to the enhancement of the paediatric ward as to reduce the shock of the hospitalization as much as possible.

ICT for the Italian Health. Poliambulanza Smart

During the 2014/2015 two-year period, in the context of carring forward an initiative which aims at promoting the italian Health’s development and innovation, Fondazione Poliambulanza was given the “Premio Innovazione Digitale in Sanità” by the Osservatorio Innovazione Digitale in Sanità della School of Management del Politecnico di Milano.

THE INTERNAL EFFICIENCY

In 2014, against about fifty nominations, the project singled out was the one of Fondazione Poliambulanza, in the context of its engagement in the field of “mobile technologies”. The project was launched in 2013 and it had been explicitly studied for the entire staff of the hospital so as to manage their activities, choosing a standard technological solution, transversal as for every Operative unit. During the assessment, different mobile devices have been identified according to the staff’s category : the most suitable device for doctors is the laptop, while tablet is more appropriate for nurses. Through this new means, the whole staff could obtain data and information in real time and consequently reduce clinical risk.

SERVICES FOR PATIENTS

In 2015 two applications,“Prenoting” and “Cresco con Poli”, were the ICT Innovation Award winners for the “Gestione della relazione con il Cittadino”.
“Prenoting” is an App for booking medical examinations from your smartphone, tablet or pc, 24/7 every day, thus avoiding a long wait of time. In a fast, autonomous and transparent way you have access to and can consult the waiting list of the hospital day by day in real time. Not only is the private’s health services’ scheduling available on the application, but also the National Health Care System’ one.
Concerning the “Cresco con Poli” App it is important to underline the real support it offers to the new mothers during the delicate postpartum period when learning how to become a mother is not easy. That’s why the App represents a valid help for facing any doubts and reservations. It gives useful information and very common and important topics are explained, for example how to dress the funis’ wound, the breast-feeding, the weaning, the baby’s growth control, the vaccination coverage and so on. This is a very practical and intuitive platform of consultation not only for the new mothers but also to clarify other involved persons’ doubts and worries.

2016 Economic Sustainability Award. Joint Commission Italian Network

In december 2013 Fondazione Poliambulanza gained international recognition and fulfilled the International Joint Commission’s (JCI) standards. JCI is one of the most renowned and important independent institutions worldwide, evaluating performances, services and health care facilities. On a total of 650 Italian hospitals, only 18 have received such an important recognition from ICJ. It represents an important step as evidence of the quality and the high standard of the treatments and the hospital care provided by Poliambulanza.

Fondazione Poliambulanza, through that recognition, has joined the set of the JCI affiliated organizations represented by the “Network italiano”.

JCI Network has been working for 5 years joining forces with about forty healthcare organizations, all of which share the same ICJ criterias and methods and remain loyal to its target concerning the empowerment of the medical treatments and the defense of patient’s safety. A key point is the acknowledgement that a substantial improvement can be pursued only with a network approach Every year, ICJ Italian network arranges the Premio Nazionale sulla Qualità e la Sicurezza del Paziente.

Italian award of Quality being a national initiative, represents a decisive factor for promoting and spreading in Italy the culture of constant and continuous improvement, through a mutual exchange of best practicItalian award of Quality being a national initiative, represents a decisive factor for promoting and spreading in Italy the culture of constant and continuous improvement, through a mutual exchange of best practices. It is an important occasion to give visibility and support to the most brilliant projects regarding quality of care, thus stimulating virtuous behaviour among the italian medical staff.      

Fondazione Poliambulanza, compared with other 60 competing hospitals, was the one which gained the “Sostenibilità economica” special prize, thanks to its work on risk assesments and the costs of infections acquired in hospital.
It is a further confirmation of our hospital’s excellence as well as the continuous research concerning the empowerment of the medical treatments and the defense of patient’s safety.
 

HIMSS Accreditation. For an highly computerized healthcare structure

In November 2016 Fondazione Poliambulanza achieved the prestigious EMRAM Stage 6 certification from HIMSS (Healthcare Information Management Systems Society), conferred only to hospitals that implement the latest generation IT solutions.     HIMSS takes care of identifying and supporting those organizations that aim to optimize the management of health through the use of technology.  Our hospital is actually equipped with a cutting-edge computerization of patients' treatment and care processes, from the management of documentation to the prescription and administration of possible therapies, up to the whole digitalization of diagnostic paths (including the most complex radiology images and medical reports). 
Fondazione Poliambulanza is also equipped with systems to support clinical choices and to manage totally paperless medical and nursing clinical documentation.
Fondazione Poliambulanza has been certified with level 6 (i.e. the utmost obtainable level through the first accreditation).  In the near future the health structure aims at achieving the highest level 7.

Kayzen Award Italia. Continuous improvement

Fondazione Poliambulanza was first classified within the healthcare category at 2017 Kaizen Award Italia with the project on the organization of the surgical path in view of the Lean Healthcare.  
The Kaizen Institute, which has been operating for 13 years in Italy and 30 worldwide, is present in over 50 countries and collaborates with many companies in our country. The guiding principle of this institution is: improvement everywhere, every day, throughout   the organization.
Following such  logic, Poliambulanza has adopted a lean organizational model aimed at simplifying the clinical and welfare processes. In order to support dimensional growth and pursue a constant improvement in the quality of care, the organization has evolved by seeking the best synergies among the various professionalisms, thus optimizing the use of resources with a view to a multidisciplinary approach to the management of clinical and care processes.
The award-winning project was born with the aim of increasing the productivity of surgical specialties by optimizing the allocation of the main critical resources - operating theaters and beds - and optimizing patient's surgical path from his/her acceptance, to the entrance into the operative block and the return to the ward. The logistics of surgical materials has been reorganized  with the adoption of reorder systems with Pull method and Kanban tags.
A particular attention has been paid to the elimination of waste, in order to improve the standards of care and to take the greatest care of patient's needs.

SICOB Acknowledgement, Società Italiana di Chirurgia dell'Obesità e delle Malattie metaboliche (= Italian Society of Obesity Surgery and Metabolic Diseases)

Fondazione Poliambulanza has achieved the accreditation from the Italian Society of Obesity and Metabolic Diseases Foundation for the year 2008.
SICOB  is granted only to those centers  that are able to meet precise criteria for selecting patients, have intensive care units and necessary, specific measures (within the structure), have a range of surgical cases of over   50 annual surgical  procedures as well as a proven experience in the most complex cases of re-intervention.

“100 % renewable A2A Energy ". For the respect of the environment

In 2018 Fondazione Poliambulanza, always sensitive to environmental issues, has achieved the important brand   “100 % renewable A2A energy” for having contractually requested that the electricity purchased from the network and not self-produced by the coogenerator comes from renewable sources.

The brand issued by A2A Energy, supplier of Poliambulanza,  aims at :

• certifying the production of energy from renewable cources;
• qualifying the user as customer sensitive to environmental issues, thus allowing him to highlight this to his own stakeholders.

The use of energy coming from renewable sources represents an important choice within the sustainable development.

EUSOMA European Certification. Excellence in Breast Cancer Treatment

In June 2018 the Breast Unit of Fondazione Poliambulanza achieved the  European Certification EUSOMA (European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists),  that identifies our hospital structure as a center of excellence regarding the treatment of breast cancer.  In Italy there are about twenty accredited Breast Units.

In order to release the Certification,  EUSOMA verifies quality indicators that concern the whole treatment path of women, from the diagnosis phase to the treatment and follow-up.   It's required the interdisciplinary management among specialists from different sectors and the execution of at least  150 surgical procedures every year.   Space  management is likewise important : certified health structures must have operating rooms, wards and medical staff dedicated to the treatment of breast cancer.  
Poliambulanza Breast Unit, that is coordinated by Dr. Alessandra Huscher, has been active since 2012 and every year manages more than 400 cases of  women.