ETHICS SERVICES OFFERED

ASSESSMENT

Focusing on your organization's existing systems and structures for ethical decision making, our comprehensive assessment will provide you with a detailed picture of strengths and opportunities for growth and improvement 

TOOLS WE USE IN OUR ASSESSMENT PROCESS INCLUDE:

• Targeted interviews with executive leadership, hospital staff, medical staff, and ethics committee members
• Review of organization mission and core values
  
• Review of existing structures for incorporating ethical considerations in executive and clinical decision making
• Review of organizational, clinical, and ethics related policies and procedures
  
• Focused survey instruments
  
• Observation of actual practices 
  
• Chart audits
  
• Evaluation of the work place climate within which organizational and clinical decisions are made
• Identification of ethics quality gaps
  

WE WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH A REPORT ON:

• The current status of ethical decision making in your organization
  
• Existing perceptions and practices that support or create obstacles to the highest level of performance
• Opportunities for ongoing evaluation, growth, and improvement
  

STRATEGIC INTERVENTION

Development and implementation of strategic interventions to create and support best practices and establish mechanisms for ongoing evaluation and improvement

GOVERNING BOARD AND EXECUTIVE TEAM

• Development of tools for consistently incorporating ethical considerations in executive level decision making
  
• Ethical analysis and consultation support on an issue by issue basis
  
• Annual retreat and regular reports to governing board and executive team identifying core ethical challenges and opportunities for improvement
  
• Assistance with accreditation and licensing preparations and readiness
  
• Assistance with conflict resolution processes
  
• Assistance strengthening ties between ethics and compliance initiatives
  

CLINICAL PRACTICE

Preventive Ethics Initiatives

• Development of tools for more consistently incorporating ethical considerations in  treatment discussions and decisions
• Identification of ethics quality gaps 
  
• Development of tools such as FAQs to address common clinical ethics questions and concerns 

Ethics Educational Initiatives

• Targeted ethics rounds 

  
• Ethics grand rounds 

  
• Departmental meetings/in-services
  
• Hospital/medical staff newsletter ethics columns
  
• Web-based ethics resources
  
• New employee orientations
  

ETHICS COMMITTEE

Assist in repositioning ethics committees to (re)establish credibility, visibility, and accessibility

Design and facilitate ongoing committee education 

• Educational sessions at regular committee meetings
  
• Intensive intake and consultation education and training 
  
• Annual skills building retreat
  

Enhance committee structure and function

• Develop yearly plan for committee meetings 
  
• Expand and diversify membership as necessary
  
• Revise committee brochures as necessary
  
• Refine intake and consultation methods 
  
• Revise referral intake and consultation log mechanisms  
  
• Guide, support, and facilitate intakes and case consultations 
  
• Establish evaluation methods and mechanisms 
  
• Clarify and foster relationship of ethics with other hospital resources (risk management, compliance, med-legal, quality, palliative care, social work, chaplaincy, etc.)