Key Initiatives

Count on high-quality care in a safe environment at UNC Health Wayne. Our team is on a journey to continuous improvement, incorporating evidence-based care, standard work processes and national patient safety guidelines designed to elevate the standard of care we provide.  

Some of our key initiatives around quality care include:

Infection Control and Hand Washing

UNC Health Wayne team members maintain clean patient care environments and follow infection control best practices. Proper hand hygiene is the number one way we stop the spread of infection. We encourage patients and visitors to follow good handwashing practices, too. 

Proper Hand Washing

Follow these steps to proper handwashing:

• Wet hands with warm water
• Apply soap, covering all surfaces of hands and fingers, and rub hands vigorously for 20 seconds
• Rinse hands with warm water
• Dry hands thoroughly using a disposable towel
• Use the towel to turn off the faucet

Patient Isolation

To help reduce the spread of infection, UNC Health Wayne uses isolation precautions — barriers between people and germs. These precautions vary based on the type of infection and follow personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines. We encourage visitors to use PPEs, such as masks or other protective garments.

Reducing Patient Falls

Falls can happen to any patient and occur in all types of health care environments. Changes in a patient’s condition, response to medication or treatment, and being in unfamiliar surroundings can all contribute to falls.

Our team uses research and best practices to prevent patient falls. As a patient, you can do your part to prevent falls by:

• Wearing nonslip footwear
• Asking your care team for help walking to and from the bathroom 
• Telling your care team if you feel dizzy, lightheaded or unsteady
• Alerting your care team if you have had a change in medications
• Using a walker or cane for support, if you have been prescribed one
• Keeping areas well lit & free of clutter
• Holding handrails, when available
• Maintaining up-to-date prescriptions for eyeglasses or contacts

Leadership Rounding

During your stay, UNC Health Wayne leaders may visit your room to ask about your patient experience and perspective. We call this leadership rounding. It helps us improve patient-centered care and quality and safety processes. It also allows us to respond more quickly to your concerns. 

Sepsis Care

Sepsis is your body’s overactive, toxic response to an infection. Research links early identification and treatment of sepsis to best outcomes for patients with sepsis. Trust UNC Health Wayne to take steps to identify and treat sepsis in the hospital. Our team focuses on improving the care of sepsis patients through education and concurrent review, with real-time feedback.

Stroke Care

Education, early recognition, and speedy response to stroke symptoms are part of our “Code Stroke” notification at the hospital. When we announce a Code Stroke, teammates (employees) provide timely, evidence-based stroke care. Prompt response may improve patient recovery.

Lab Barcode Verification

To ensure patient safety, UNC Health Wayne barcodes patient lab samples and uses positive patient identification (PPID) procedures. During your visit to the hospital, you’ll wear a unique bar-coded identification bracelet. As our health care team takes your lab samples, they scan your bracelet and match the sample tubes to you before sending them to the lab. Our barcoding process also ensures the correct type and amount of blood collection allowing us to get your test results to you faster.