Our patient volume and acuity remain extremely high, and that has added to the intensity and pressure to sustain positive outcomes. Fortunately, Inova places a high priority on the contributions and wellbeing of all team members. This has enhanced communication and respect among our team members and has created an environment of trust, allowing us to explore questions around effectiveness that have sparked further innovation in our care models.
Our "One Team" approach is centered around the use of integrated, multidisciplinary teams that incorporate expertise from a variety of medical specialists and practitioners. The perspective gained by using an integrated care model helps identify risk factors and address the diagnostic and treatment complexities that affect care delivery decisions.
In this year's report, we share some of our proudest accomplishments. One of the major highlights has been the strengthening of community partnerships, with hospitals throughout the region using our care model for treating cardiogenic shock. Inova has provided a blueprint for excellence that has had an impact throughout the Washington, DC, region, nationally, and internationally.
We also showcase several recent innovations in our cardiac surgery program. These include the use of robotic-assisted, minimally invasive techniques that allow us to offer bypass surgery to patients including those who would not otherwise have been surgical candidates and our team’s expertise in using multiarterial grafts – a technique with better long-term survival rates compared with a single arterial graft.
Improvements in care delivery are also evident in our approach to managing and treating heart failure. Our urgent access clinics have reduced hospitalizations and improved care by offering timely assessment and treatment on an outpatient basis for patients with symptoms of decompensation. Our team is also piloting a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of using messages within Epic to prompt clinicians across Inova hospitals and outpatient care sites to follow best practices and use guideline-directed medical therapies for chronic heart failure patients.
We are enormously proud of the outstanding achievements of our medical, nursing and professional staff. They are second to none, and we applaud their resilience, determination and dedication to excellence.
We also wish to thank all the physicians who entrust their patients’ care to us and work in partnership with us in caring for them, as well as the patients who choose us for their care. We value your partnership as we work together to help everyone in our community and beyond live strong, healthy and fulfilling lives.
