(Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – Thursday 7th June, 2018): Eight teams of health care professionals showcased their best quality initiatives in a unique competition held on Wednesday May 30th inside the main foyer at Cheshire Hall Medical Centre for a prize pool of US$3,000 sponsored by InterHealth Canada Corporate, the private health care management company.

‘The Diamond Challenge’ spanned five months of team preparation, and last week’s finale featured a poster and oral presentation by each team leader before a panel of external judges. Each initiative submitted must have been implemented between the years 2015 – 2018 and reflect measurable impact or evidence of improvement in the practice environment. The judges were Dr. Hamlet Nation – Acting Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Board, Mrs. Ruth Forbes – Senior Vice President of Fortis TCI and Dr. Marcella Malcolm of Carolina Private Clinic.

The Best Quality Improvement Initiative for building a Culture of Safety recorded a tie between the Baby Friendly Initiative and the Competency Mandatory Training Initiative. The first initiative was led by Dr. Dawn Perry – Head of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Mikette Been – Chief of Clinical Services. The latter Initiative was led by Jacqueline Moe-Cox and Lurline Barnett of the Hospital’s Education Department.

The top award for the categories of Best Quality Improvement Initiative towards Safe Medication Practices and Best Overall Quality Improvement Initiative, were captured by the Medication Reconciliation Project, which secured a double win. The project comprised of Dr. Sani Amatti – Head of Pediatrics, Dr. Ravindra Gajendragadkar – General Internist, Detorrie Tennant – Hospital Information Systems Manager and Tony Wilton – Pharmacy Manager.

The title of the overall competition was derived from the hospital’s quest to receive diamond status once again. Turks and Caicos Islands Hospital will undergo a third accreditation assessment next week June 11th – 15th 2018. A full-site survey is carried out every three years by independent overseas assessors. The acute-secondary health care facility has been accredited at the Diamond level since March 2012, which is the highest level achievable under the ACI Qmentum International Accreditation Program. Accreditation is an independent assessment of a health care organization’s performance against internationally recognized standards of best practice.

TCI Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Gaston Levac commented on the internal competition. Levac said: “The excellent work presented by Diamond Challenge team members is a reflection of the quality work delivered by all hospital personnel. It bodes well for the TCI Hospital receiving an unprecedented third straight Diamond Accreditation award. To obtain a Diamond Award from Accreditation Canada International demonstrates that the hospital is in compliance with the world’s most rigorous standards of care, service and performance.”

ENDS