Executive Order Number One Hundred Creating A Task Force To Examine Opportunites For Continued Improvement At The Delaware Psychiatric Center
WHEREAS, the Delaware Psychiatric Center has shown continued improvement in health care quality over the past seven years through a series of systemic changes; and
WHEREAS, the Delaware Psychiatric Center provides essential services to some of the most vulnerable citizens of the State of Delaware; and
WHEREAS, it is essential that adequate policies, procedures, and safeguards are in place to help protect individuals at the Delaware Psychiatric Center; and
WHEREAS, there are always opportunities to improve patient care and staff development at any health care facility;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RUTH ANN MINNER, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Delaware, do hereby declare and order as follows:
1. The Task Force to Examine Opportunities for Continued Improvement at the Delaware Psychiatric Center (the “Task Force”) is hereby created. The Task Force will have nine (9) members appointed by the Governor who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The members shall include patient/health care advocates, individuals with psychiatric health care experience, the chair of the Senate Health and Social Services Committee, the chair of the House Health and Human Development Committee, and members from the community-at-large. The Task Force shall be co-chaired by two members of the Task Force designated by the Governor.
2. The Task Force shall examine and make recommendations concerning:
a. Current hiring procedures for the Delaware Psychiatric Center staff, to include recommendations relating to criminal background checks, drug testing, and general interview and orientation processes;
b. Best medical practices for the Delaware Psychiatric Center, to include recommendations specifically relating to restructuring current units to meet the needs of the current patient population, matching staff with the appropriate patient groupings, and policies and protocols relating to care of psychiatric patients;
c. Professional development for direct care staff at the Delaware Psychiatric Center, to include recommendations relating to training practices, needed resources for professional development opportunities, and curricula for direct care staff;
d. Additional community placement options for patients of the Delaware Psychiatric Center, to include identification of such options and an examination of the existing patient population related to community placement opportunities;
e. Adequacy of the Delaware Psychiatric Center’s buildings and grounds, to include proposed designs for a new facility; and
f. The Delaware Psychiatric Center’s performance improvement unit, to include recommendations regarding changes in both staffing and scope of activities of that unit.
3. The Task Force shall convene no later than within 30 days of the date of this order and provide its recommendations to the Governor no later than December 15, 2007.
Approved: August 22, 2007
