The Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network (ICAHN) recently honored Luke McDaniel, Quality Analyst at Fairfield Memorial Hospital by presenting him with the ICAHN Young Leader Award during the ICAHN Conference in Springfield, IL. This special recognition was given to Luke for being a young leader who is leading the way in improving healthcare at Fairfield Memorial Hospital. This special award was to be given to an individual who serves as a role model, an agent of change, and a health innovator who not only shapes policy, but also engages others in collaboration that promotes successful outcomes through teamwork.
“The employees and Medical Staff at Fairfield Memorial Hospital are honored to be blessed with the leadership of Luke McDaniel. Mr. McDaniel is a young man of character and integrity. He is passionate about his work in quality. He is extremely detail oriented and searches for the root cause of an issue and has put together a well-formulated process to address future needs. Mr. McDaniel is genuine and sincere and has what some might describe as the “IT” factor, which is hard to define, but it is prominently visible and obvious in those who possess the natural quality. He takes great pride working in healthcare, as he is aware of the difference his efforts can make. Mr. McDaniel’s makes it his daily mission to be a positive influence with his work he does as the Quality Analyst. He vacillates between the world of in-depth analysis and the reality of application,” stated Katherine Bunting-Williams, Ph.D., FMH CEO.
Luke’s most successful Leadership project has resulted in reducing readmissions at Fairfield Memorial Hospital. As the FMH Boost Committee Chairman, Luke has successfully led FMH to be ranked 12th out of 202 hospitals in lowest readmissions in the State of Illinois. Fairfield Memorial Hospital’s program has been greatly enhanced by the following interventions which contributed to our reduced readmission rate: stratification of patients at high risk for readmission, our post-hospital transitional (Care Check) program, and changes in the discharge phone call program.
Mr. McDaniel cultivates relationships well and rewards staff for their efforts in very innovative ways, which has lead FMH to greater compliance with many quality improvement initiatives. Mr. McDaniel has an ability to energize staff to embrace State and Federal safety and quality initiatives. Daily team huddles on the Medical Surgical Unit have been key, and Mr. McDaniel is able to help bring together the many disciplines that are involved in patients care to heighten awareness of how to work together. His presence in the meetings often result in the best possible outcome for patients by providing an outside non-clinical point of view that is at times needed by the more seasoned staff.
FMH’s Administrative team had tasked Mr. McDaniel with the responsibility of improving staff’s compliance with the hospital compare initiative. As a result of his leadership, staff’s documentation of a patient’s influenza and pneumococcal vaccination history has improved ten-fold. In addition, there has been an increase in compliance with discharge instructions and patient education for Congestive Heart Failure patients.
After leading these many efforts, Fairfield Memorial Hospital was named among the Top 20 scoring hospitals through the Hospital Engagement Network (HEN), which resulted in a financial boost to the hospital. In addition, Mr. McDaniel was the recipient of an all-expense paid trip (sponsored by the HEN) to the National IHI convention as recognition for his efforts in the Hospital Engagement Network quality initiatives.
Mr. McDaniel’s most significant contribution to the success of the organization is his personal ability to relate to individuals, whether an employee, Medical Staff member, community member or fellow colleague at a neighboring healthcare facility. He is very adept at building relationships which have resulted in better quality outcomes. Mr. McDaniel serves on FMH’s Customer Service Team because of his unique ability to make everyone he encounters feel like they are special. He does a superb job in demonstrating to staff the way they can use the new customer service skills in their day to day interactions with others.
“It is rare to find someone that everyone agrees is an asset to an organization, but our staff and our organizational leaders will quickly tell you what a phenomenal young man Mr. McDaniel is and how fortunate we are to have him on our team,” stated Dana Shantel Taylor, LCSW, ACSW, Director of Organizational Development.
“I am beyond honored to have received this award. I would like to share it with the leadership that has guided me, along with the FMH staff in which I have collaborated closely with in order to create the desired positive results for our patients,” stated Luke McDaniel, FMH Quality Analyst and ICAHN Young Leader Recipient 2015.
Pictured is Luke McDaniel receiving his Young Leader award, along with a photo with his family (Mark and Jervaise McDaniel, Mary McDaniel, Monica McDaniel, Meredith Miller holding Myah Miller, and Mariah McDaniel) and FMH Administrative leaders, Katherine Bunting-Williams, Ph.D., FMH CEO and Dana Shantel Taylor, LCSW, ACSW, FMH Director of Organizational Development, who were in attendance when he received the special Recognition at the ICAHN Conference held in Springfield, IL.
