Bear’s Den Innovation Program Awards Winning Ideas from Team Members Across Network

Innovations and ideas from team members across Hackensack Meridian Health will become a reality on the clinical front lines, courtesy of the successful Bears Den Innovation Challenge: Reimagining Patient and Team Member Safety.

The six finalists of the program came from more than 100 high-level submissions from across the network. Following the presentation of each idea to the executive team and board members, it was determined that each idea had a unique contribution to advance HMH’s ability to improve both patient and team member safety. The six finalists were all deemed winners, following a lengthy vetting process and a vote from top leadership at the network.

“To see such innovation from our incredible team members is hugely gratifying,” said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, chief executive officer of Hackensack Meridian Health. “We have professionals who are, indeed, always looking to ‘keep getting better.’”

The Bear’s Den Innovation Program is a unique accelerator at Hackensack Meridian Health. enlisting a panel of experts to evaluate inspirational health care ideas, inventions, and strategies from entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, health care partners, and HMH's own 36,000 team members. The Bear's Den helps make great concepts a reality through strategic partnerships, funding, and other support, and its quarterly meetings are thought-provoking dialogues challenging the status quo to set better health care standards in New Jersey - and beyond.

“The Bear’s Den is an investment on a better future for everyone at this health network, and beyond,” said Ihor Sawczuk, M.D., FACS, Hackensack Meridian Health’s president of Academics, Research and Innovation, founding chair of the HMHRI, and also associate dean of Clinical Integration and professor and chair emeritus of Urology at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. “Here we have sometimes-simple solutions which will make a world of difference to patients and clinicians alike.”

The six projects include:

• A team of nurses from Raritan Bay Medical Center’s Intensive Care Unit have put together a proposal to “tame the cords”: A cable clip holder to hold together the many power cords connected from the front end of the patient’s bed to a back electrical panel. It can be installed under the bed or at the head or foot of the bed to organize the cables - thereby preventing falls, slips and injuries.
• A clinical pharmacist specialist from Old Bridge Medical Center and Raritan Bay Medical Center suggests a plan to restructure the “Meds-to-Beds” processes within the organization to decrease the risks associated with challenging medication reconciliation in the Emergency Room, as well as upon admission to an inpatient unit. This an additional mechanism to further combat adverse drug events (ADEs).
• A nurse from Hackensack University Medical Center put forth a plan called the Time Oriented Patient Position protocol (TOPP) for the prevention of hospital-acquired pressure injuries. The process is targeted at reducing risks of pressure ulcers and aiding the staff in identifying those patients who need more positioning changes during a hospitalization.
• A public relations manager from Hackensack University Medical Center recommends instituting a protocol called enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) to reduce opioid use for pain following C-section procedures.
• Physical and occupational therapists from Jersey Shore University Medical Center propose a plan to get patients up and moving early in their hospitalizations by a structured protocol for PT/OT orders with all ICU admissions.
• A critical-care nurse from Ocean University Medical Center proposes a plan to barcode tube-fed nutritional supplements, and further enhance patient safety, accurate documentation, and potentially save costs.

All these finalists were declared winners of the Challenge at the Bear’s Den meeting on Oct. 25. All will be implemented in the health network in the near future, as either network-wide changes, or in pilot programs to test their effectiveness.

“What better way to improve the clinical setting, than to partner with those who know best from their day-to-day experience?” said Sandra Powell-Elliott, vice president and chief innovation and commercialization officer at Hackensack Meridian Health. “We’re thrilled these changes will be coming to our network via this unique program.”

Launched in 2017, the Bear’s Den features a panel of experts, including Hackensack Meridian Health CEO Robert Garrett, leading physicians, key network executives, venture capitalists, patent attorneys, who gather regularly to vet proposals from entrepreneurs. The health network’s novel incubator has vetted many products and strategies to streamline care delivery, reduce infections, lower hospital readmissions and help patients partner in their care with physicians. The program has also invested in promising innovative companies.