Friday, Aug. 17, 2007
Gov. Minner Creates Task Force to Examine Opportunities for Continued Improvement at Delaware Psychiatric Center
Group to Make Recommendations by December 15th
Dover – Governor Ruth Ann Minner announced today that she is creating a nine-member task force to examine opportunities for continued improvement at the Delaware Psychiatric Center.
“Our DPC employees work hard to provide quality patient care in a challenging environment, and I applaud and support their efforts,” Gov. Minner said. “In any health care facility, there are always opportunities to improve patient care. That is why I am creating a task force to look at issues such as hiring procedures for hospital staff, best medical practices, professional development for direct care workers, and additional community placement options for our patients.”
Task force members will include patient/health care advocates, community representatives, medical professionals, and legislators.
“We have worked hard since 2001 to improve operations at the Delaware Psychiatric Center, and I am extremely proud of the tremendous improvements we have made in patient care,” said Department of Health and Social Services Secretary Vincent P. Meconi. “Everyone knows that a facility like DPC is a demanding and complicated environment in which to provide psychiatric treatment, but we are committed to the best patient care possible and we welcome any factual review that will help us to improve.”
Specifically, the group is tasked with making recommendations concerning:
• Hiring procedures for hospital staff, to include recommendations related to criminal background checks, drug testing, and interview and orientation processes;
• Best medical practices, specifically related to restructuring current units to meet patient needs, as well as matching staff with the appropriate patient grouping;
• Professional development for direct care workers, to include a review of current training practices, suggested improvements, identification of needed resources for enhancing professional development opportunities, and curricula for direct care staff;
• Identification of additional community placement options for patients; and
• Review of the hospital’s building and grounds, including proposed designs for a new facility.
The task force is due to make recommendations to the Governor no later than Dec. 15.
