YNHH introduces new measures for PIP 2019

  Larger image

Yale New Haven Hospital has rolled out the Performance Incentive Plan (PIP) for fiscal year 2019, which includes a few new measures as well as several familiar goals.

Now in its 20th year, PIP has the same basic structure – employees are asked to collectively meet tiered goals and will receive a financial reward based on goal achievement. The size of the reward shared by eligible employees at year-end is determined by the degree to which employees achieve goals – maximum exceeds expectations, target meets the goal, and threshold is acceptable, but falls short of target. 

Again this year, eligible employees can potentially earn up to a 3 percent PIP payout. Payout will be based on hours and earnings between Sept. 30, 2018 and Sept. 28, 2019. 

“Considering the increasingly challenging economy and current financial uncertainty of our state, we are especially pleased to be able to offer PIP to employees once again,” said Richard D’Aquila, president. “As we continue to grow and provide safe, quality, patient-centered care, it is important to remain focused on our goals. This year’s PIP program includes goals that continue to reflect the ongoing priorities of our hospital and health system.” 

The four hospital-wide areas of performance remain the same: patient safety and quality, patient experience, employee engagement and financial performance. Each area receives equal weight of 25 percent.

Patient safety and quality includes two measures: 

• C. difficile infections – the number of patients who contracted the Clostridium difficile bacterial infection during hospital stays. The target goal is no more than 196 incidents. 
  
  
• A new PIP measure this year is COPD readmissions, which measures the number of patients readmitted within 30 days of discharge for complications related to treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The target is no more than 43 patients readmitted. 

Patient experience measures patients’ and families’ experiences at YNHH as expressed in Press Ganey surveys. It includes three measures: 

• Inpatient – the satisfaction of inpatients from adult units on both New Haven campuses and patients on the Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital campuses. The target score is 87.9.
• Emergency Department – the satisfaction of patients who visited the York Street adult or pediatric, Saint Raphael Campus or Shoreline Medical Center emergency departments. The target score is 87.1.
• Ambulatory Services – the overall experience in Ambulatory Surgery, Heart and Vascular outpatient centers, Radiology and Outpatient Oncology. The target score is 93.5. 

Employee engagement includes employee participation in two initiatives: 

• The Know Your Numbers Plus wellness program, which helps employees heighten their health awareness and earn credit toward the cost of their medical benefits, will return this year. The target goal is 80 percent employee participation.
   
• Employee injuries reporting – This new measure will track the number of initial injury reports employees enter. Nationally, employee injuries are under reported. To place even greater emphasis on employee safety, the hospital encourages employees to report their workplace injury events. This will ensure that employees receive proper care and treatment and provide data the hospital can use to improve workplace safety. The target for this goal is a 3 percent increase in employee initial injury reports. 

Financial performance includes the sole measure of the hospital’s operating margin. For 2019, the hospital’s net operating margin target goal is 4.1 percent.