We believe patients of our hospitals can define quality by how many lives we save, how safely we deliver the care we provide, how well we prevent repeat hospitalizations and how satisfied our patients report they are.

Patient Experience and Improving Quality

Evidence shows that when patients have less anxiety, they are more likely to follow medical advice and also are more likely to report a positive health care experience. Whether they are working directly with patients or supporting someone who is, all Froedtert & MCW staff and physicians focus on creating the best possible experience for our patients.

What are we doing to get even better? 

Antimicrobial Stewardship

We partner with our patients to prevent you from receiving antibiotics you don’t need. By doing this in all care environments, communities can reduce the prevalence of “superbugs,” or bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics. Our health network adopted these best practices early on and addresses proper use of antibiotics in several ways.

  • The education we provide empowers physicians to make better antimicrobial prescribing decisions and apply best practices.
  • Pharmacists now play a vital role in communicating important lab results to clinicians along with guidance on changes in antibiotic choice where appropriate.
  • We have partnered with the microbiology lab to take advantage of new technology that identifies infection-causing bacteria faster.
  • Frontline providers, then, can select the most appropriate treatment sooner than they would have using traditional methods.

We have also worked with our electronic medical record system to develop processes that make it easy for clinicians to make the correct treatment decisions quickly and efficiently. We are proud to say we meet guidelines for program support, structure and activity from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC). We recently shared our work with other academic medical centers at a national conference.

“Good Catch” Program

The Froedtert & MCW health network recognizes with a “Good Catch Award” any staff member, physician or advanced practice provider who reports actual or potential patient safety issues through an internal reporting system. Reporting these events gives the hospitals necessary information to be able to fix problems, address root causes and identify patterns. The Good Catch Award supports Froedtert & MCW’s patient safety program and culture of safety. Hospitals with a positive patient safety culture are efficient in preventing mistakes which may lead to patient harm. 

White Board Communication

Froedtert & MCW hospitals are helping patients and family members to be aware of their care plan, team members and other information important to their care by making that information visible in the patient room at all times using white boards. It is also a communication tool among caregivers, so everyone knows the plan of care and can address questions as they come up. Care teams are asked to update the white board at every shift change.