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Currents To Medical Center Employees: Rosemary Ellis, director of quality, recently introduced the Medical Center’s new performance improvement tool. The acronym for our new model is “IMPROVE,” as explained below. It replaces the FOCUS-PDCA model adopted in the mid-1990s. The IMPROVE model serves as a simple tool to guide process change, facilitate problem-solving and respond to opportunities.  Our accreditation body, JCAHO, does not require that any specific performance improvement model be used by hospitals. However, JCAHO does expect all employees to be familiar with the performance improvement model adopted by their hospital.  I believe that everyone will find IMPROVE to be a useful tool and urge that they become familiar with it as soon as practical. We will continue to disseminate information about the IMPROVE model. Details can be found on the Medical Center Intranet Web site under “performance improvement.” Thank you very much. W. Stuart Smith Vice President for Clinical Operations and Executive Director, MUSC Medical Center   STAR Productions presents ‘Ocean’s 11’ As the images of Brad Pitt and George Clooney faded from the screen at the Jan. 21 communications meeting, a few long sighs were heard. Rosemary Ellis, quality director, picked a scene from the movie “Ocean’s 11” to illustrate the concept of “successful planning.” The Medical Center has adopted IMPROVE as its new PI Module:  Identify the problem or opportunity Measure definitions or goals Problem analysis Remedy the cause through intervention Operationalize the plan Validate effectiveness Evaluate if the improvement has been sustained. Ellis told managers that quality, as it relates to the medical center and JCAHO standards, is not just an arbitrary textbook definition. Simply, quality means “doing the right thing the right way.” In this sense, medical center employees and staff must be technically competent, communicate well, share in decision making and remain culturally sensitive. Ellis noted that using a problem-solving model, like IMPROVE, helps individuals and groups to respond to challenges in their environment by demystifying the problem-solving process. Using a PI model ensures root cause analysis and prevents decision-makers from jumping to conclusions. Elevator Project  Underway Hal Curry, operations associate dean, reported that the task of over-hauling the hospital elevator system will began next month in the main and children’s hospitals.  The project will upgrade 16 elevators in function and electronics, while any cosmetic changes will be addressed at a later time.        Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.