KU News Release

KU Medical Center workshop to address major health care quality concerns

LAWRENCE — Nationally recognized health care performance improvement expert Dr. Robert Lloyd will be the featured speaker at the “Becoming a Sage: Tools to Renew the Practitioner’s Commitment to Quality” symposium Thursday, Nov. 15, at the University of Kansas Edwards Campus in Overland Park. The event is sponsored by Continuing Education and the KU Medical Center.

At the symposium, Lloyd will offer local health care providers the tools necessary to tackle such challenging problems as hospital-acquired pneumonia, failure to rescue, sepsis and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.

Lloyd is executive director of performance improvement at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, Mass., known for its new 5 Million Lives campaign aimed at preventing patient injuries.

“Dr. Lloyd is internationally renowned for his classes and presentations on quality improvement, and well-known for relating complex concepts into usable and cohesive ideas,” said Michael R. Bleich, associate dean of the KU School of Nursing.

According to the Institute of Medicine’s report, “Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality,” there is a significant need for educational activities in quality improvement, which is seen as one of the five core competencies necessary to provide patient-centered care.

“This workshop addresses that need for health care professionals, administrators and organizational leaders who must plan quality measurement strategies and learn tactics needed to improve overall organizational effectiveness,” Bleich said.

The workshop is part of the KU HealthPartners’ Deep Discovery Series on the universal challenges faced by health care professionals who influence quality health care delivery and systems improvement, and is sponsored by KU HealthPartners Inc. and the KU School of Nursing.

Among his many articles and reports, Lloyd authored “Measuring Quality Improvement in Healthcare: A Guide to Statistical Process Control Applications.” More than 60,000 participants have attended his classes and presentations on quality improvement.

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