The ºÚÁÏÍø Institute for Healthcare Quality Improvement (IHQI) supports the strategic goals of the ºÚÁÏÍø Health System and the ºÚÁÏÍø through its Clinician Leadership in Quality and Safety (CLQS) Scholarly Concentration program. This program provides a unique opportunity for both medical students and faculty mentors to collaborate on meaningful quality improvement (QI) initiatives that enhance patient care and hospital operations.

Through the CLQS program, faculty clinicians develop and lead QI projects within their departments or service lines, receiving support from a highly motivated medical student—known as a CLQS Scholar—who helps drive the project forward. Over the course of eight months, CLQS Scholars gain hands-on experience applying QI methodology to real-world challenges. They receive structured training through five dedicated learning sessions, key deliverables, and ongoing mentorship from their faculty mentor and the CLQS team, led by Dr. Casey Olm-Shipman.

OnÌýMarch 4, 2025, ten medical students presented their projects at the CLQS Symposium, showcasing how they applied QI tools to improve healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.

A list of the presentations featured at the Symposium is below:

• Improving Door to EKG time in the E.D. by Shantanu Srivatsa
• Revamping Prostate Cancer Screenings to Improve Shared Decision-Making Conversations and Enhance Equitable Care by Caroline Walton
• Cultivating Culture Culture in the ºÚÁÏÍø PICU by Elgin Yalin
• Connecting Families: Optimizing Proxy MyChart Access for Older Inpatients by Kainat Aslam
• Promoting Equitable Care for Hispanic, Latinx, and/or Spanish speaking Patients with Diabetes at ºÚÁÏÍø Internal Medicine Clinic at Panther Creek
• Improving Home Blood Pressure Documentation at ºÚÁÏÍø Family Medicine by Anna Caffrey-Bottoms
• Combatting Food Insecurity to Improve Hypertension Control in Black Patients by Ria Das
• Data-Driven Approach to Increase Utilization of Oncology Pathways by Maxwell Finkelstein
• Increasing Social Drivers of Health (SDOH) Screenings at ºÚÁÏÍø OB-GYN and Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinics by Korene Gbozah, MPH
• Implementing Video Review to Develop High Quality Trauma Care by Priya Vasan

You can view the 2025 CLQS Symposium .

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The Symposium is hosted by IHQI and the School of Medicine. You can register for the Symposium .Ìý Ìý

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On October 22, 2024, IHQI’s 10th annual Improvement Scholars Symposium was held in the Old Clinic Auditorium at the ºÚÁÏÍø. Clinicians, selected as Improvement Scholars and Fellows, delivered presentations about their efforts to enhance patient care through their year-long quality improvement projects. The event consisted of eight engaging presentations on the outcomes of the following projects:Ìý

• Diagnostic Stewardship of the Fungal Ab Panel by Bri Castillo, MD: This project was focused on the laboratory testing of fungal infections. It is on track to save the organization $90,000 in test fees and additional patient dollars in out-of-pocket expenses for copays while ensuring that patients receive the diagnostic tests they need.
• Improving Obstetric Outcomes through Standardized Induction Protocols by Elizabeth Coviello, DO and Jeff Reinhardt, MD: Through their work addressing systems issues around induction protocol use, this team saved an average of 90 minutes of labor time for pregnant persons greater than 37 weeks whose labors were induced.
• Transitions of Care for Patients with Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) by Cassi Frank, MMSc, PA-C: This project helped over 20% of VTE patients get access to medications that were essential to treating their condition.Ìý
• Improving Transitions of Care from the Emergency Department to Oncology Specialty Care by Ben Linthicum, DNP, FNP-C, ACNPC-AG, CEN and Tammy Triglianos, DNP, ANP-BC, AOCNP: By improving referral processes, this team achieved an average referral turnaround time of 3 business days for Emergency Department patients so that the diagnostic process is started earlier and in the outpatient setting.
• Early Peanut Introduction in Infants to Prevent Peanut Allergy by Lauren Herlihy, DNP, CPNP, MSN: This team ensured 762 patients aged 4 to 12 months received care to prevent peanut allergies.
• Bivalirudin in Pediatric Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) Patients by Ursula Adams, MD, MBA and Lauren Brown, DO: This team established bivalirudin, a medication with the potential of reducing thrombotic and bleeding events, as the standard of care for pediatric ECLS patients. They also established a data collection system that will allow for enhanced efficacy analysis moving forward
• Improving Pathways of Care Following Emergency Department Discharge for Renal Colic by Dave Friedlander, MD, MPH: This project increased the percentage of renal colic patients discharged from the Emergency Department with an ambulatory urology referral from 12% to 40%.Ìý Ìý
• Identification and Management of Admitted Patients at Risk for Moderate to Severe Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome (AWS) by Ashmita Chatterjee, MD, Amy Dacillo-Curso, DNP, ACNP-BC, and Melissa Pabalan, MD: By changing the standard of care from benzodiazepines to phenobarbital, this team reduced escalation of care for alcohol withdrawal symptoms. This change will be implemented at the system levelÌýthrough Care Redesign.Ìý Ìý

A recording of the symposium can be viewed and slide decks from each team’s presentation can be viewed here.Ìý

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TheÌýand IHQI FellowshipÌýprogram aim to improve clinical effectiveness and patient safety by implementing proven and/or expert-recommended strategies and approaches.Ìý

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This year’s cohort consists of 11 medical students, all of whom are already working with their mentors on their Quality Improvement projects. If you’d like to learn more about our scholars, their mentors, and the projects they are working on, please review their individual profiles. Additionally, if you’re interested in seeing the amazing work of our previous cohorts, please watch recordings of past symposia.

We are thrilled to work with such an amazing group of scholars and mentors, and we look forward to seeing the impact of their teams’ efforts on our systems, colleagues, and patients!

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Congratulations to our teammates on starting this new, quality-focused endeavor and leading the way as we deliver care to the children we serve!Ìý

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We welcome clinicians, quality improvement professionals, ºÚÁÏÍø Health and ºÚÁÏÍø-CH faculty, staff, students, and anyone interested in learning about quality improvement activities on our campus.

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