Awards Support 7 Innovative Quality Improvement Projects

Published October 10, 2013 This content is archived.

Story by Suzanne Kashuba

University at Buffalo faculty, residents and fellows are teaming up to explore new ways to provide better health care.

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Award-winning projects include those aimed at improving communication in the ICU, colonoscopy screenings and obesity assessment.

Seven quality improvement projects — including those aimed at improving communication in the intensive care unit, colonoscopy screenings and obesity assessment — have been funded with 2013-2014 Quality Improvement Awards.

The grants of up to $3,000 each are awarded annually through UB’s Office of Graduate Medical Education.

Teams to Study Processes, Procedures, Safety

The award-winning teams from three clinical departments and their projects are listed below.

Ali Abbas, MD, fellow
Faculty mentor: Abha Rani, MD, clinical assistant professor
Project: “Improving the Quality of Screening Colonoscopy at ECMC”

Wudeneh Mulugeta, MD, resident
Faculty mentor: Roberto O. Diaz Del Carpio, MD, clinical assistant professor
Project: “Improving Patient Safety When Using Aspirin for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at Hertel-Elmwood Internal Medicine Center”

Sumeet Munjal, MD, resident
Faculty mentor: Roberto O. Diaz Del Carpio, MD, clinical assistant professor
Project:
“Improving the Initial Assessment of Obesity at Hertel-Elmwood Internal Medicine Center”

Jaclyn Schneider, MD, fellow
Faculty mentor: Amy A. Case, MD, assistant professor
Project: “Advancing Communication at Buffalo VA Medical Center through the Implementation of Family Meetings in the Intensive Care Unit”

Andrew Fanous, MD, resident
Faculty mentor: Jody Leonardo, MD, assistant professor
Project: “Role of Preoperative Worksheets in Reducing Surgical Cancellations and Decreasing Patient Morbidity”

Hakeem Shakir, MD, resident
Faculty mentor: Jody Leonardo, MD, assistant professor
Project: “Solving the ‘Lost to Follow Up’ Dilemma:  A Retrospective Cohort Study”

Jeremy Killion, MD, and Renee Triplet, DO, fellows
Faculty mentor: Maude E. Dull, MD, clinical assistant professor
Project: “Improving Pediatric ED to PICU and OR to PICU Handoffs Using the I-PASS Model”