Accessibility in Audiology

• Team Lead: Rachel Hammond, AUD, CCC-A
• Institution: Mass Eye and Ear
• Solution Type: Care Redesign
• Challenge: Lack of mechanisms for hearing-impaired patients to communicate at medical appointments
• Solution: To improve exchanges at front desks, this team would like to set up a system where patients indicate their “communication preferences” (examples: written communication, need for an interpreter, use of clear masks by a provider, etc). Once indicated, this method will be used by front desk staff and clinicians for the remainder of their visit. For patients that require written communication, the team would like to provide portable computers with screens that can swivel for a patient to view; this can be used at check-in and by clinicians during appointments to communicate with patients more easily and compassionately. To improve the patient experience in their waiting rooms, they would like to implement a pager system that provides a vibration alert for when a clinician is prepared to see the patient; this will benefit patients that are hard of hearing, patients with vision restrictions and patients whose primary language is not English.

Collaborative Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) Training

• Team Lead: Audrey Kurash Cohen, MCSO, MS, CCC-SLP
• Institution: Mass General Hospital
• Solution Type: Care Redesign
• Challenge: Treatment of dysphagia — difficulty with swallowing — is impeded by the lack of speech language pathologist (SLP) training in videofluoroscopic (VFSS) and fiberoptic endoscopic (FEES) swallowing diagnostic procedures, resulting in significant patient backlog and an unmet need for diagnosis and treatment.
• Solution: This team is creating an innovative, remote training program to increase the number of clinicians trained to conduct VFSS and FEES and provide best-practice care to patients with swallowing disorders. This program provides standardized skills development and a competency model delivered by Mass General dysphagia specialists within the academic medical centers. Additionally, this solution will improve patient access to VFSS and/or FEES, reduce time in the hospital waiting for the procedure, increase the number of procedures performed in the outpatient setting, and improve speed to, and access to, treatment options, thus improving the overall care of these patients.

Eating Disorder Care Collaborative

• Team Lead: Jennifer Leah Goetz, MD
• Institution: Salem Hospital
• Solution Type: Care Redesign
• Challenge: Eating disorder care in Massachusetts is presently limited to a single inpatient unit at a small for-profit program in Dedham, MA, which lacks a behavioral health component. This results in hundreds of young people, predominantly women, each year receiving eating disorder care via the emergency room or medical inpatient units that are not equipped to meet their needs.
• Solution: This team aims to create an eating disorder “pathway” or “track” within an already-existing inpatient unit at McLean Hospital. They will train the staff in eating disorder care and treatment and create group programming specific to this population. Once the inpatient pilot is running, they will conduct internal reviews and analyses to determine what is working, what changes need to be made, and officially launch as an independent unit. The goal is to increase the number of patients receiving customized care for eating disorders and reduce or eliminate care being provided in the emergency room.

Lithe Surgery

• Team Lead: Brittany Powell, MD, MPP
• Institution: Brigham & Women’s Hospital
• Solution Type: Hardware
• Challenge: Operative built environment and surgical tools are not designed for women
• Solution: This team is founding a surgical ergonomics company, believing that no surgeon should have to “make do” with the equipment they are given. They will work on their first product prototype as part of the SheSolves program. They believe that radical redesign of procedural and peri-procedural tools, using new and emerging technology, will enhance performance, reduce workplace injury and improve satisfaction of users of all genders. Ultimately, their team intends to design a portfolio of functional surgical instruments that are best-in-class, not only preferred by female surgeons, but preferred by all surgeons.

Women’s Sexual Health and Supportive Care Program

• Team Lead: Brittney Sorbello, RPH
• Institution: Wentworth-Douglass
• Solution Type: Care Redesign
• Challenge: Supporting women with cancer medication-related side effects causing sexual dysfunction
• Solution: This will be a pharmacist-led program to recognize potential adverse effects, interactions and pharmacology of oncology drugs in order to discuss and manage sexual health concerns with patients, and tackle what is currently a significant gap in care. This novel approach aims to include discussing the impacts treatment may have on patients’ physical and emotional health and providing strategies and therapy to improve quality of life while undergoing cancer treatment.

Women’s Substance Use Disorder Group

• Team Lead: Wei Sum Li, MD
• Institution: MGH Charlestown HealthCare Center
• Solution Type: Care Redesign
• Challenge: There are no women-centered substance use disorders (SUD) treatment options to aid in recovery.
• Solution: This team is working to start a Women’s Group at Charlestown HealthCare Center to engage women with SUD. The current SUD groups are mixed-gender and led by a male recovery coach. The female group participants have shared there are certain topics they are uncomfortable addressing in that environment, and some challenges are more specific to women, such as reuniting with a child. The care team aims to use a combination of psychoeducational skills development, cognitive behavioral and support group elements to promote recovery. They hope to include elements of art therapy and movement therapy, such as yoga. This clinic will expand access to SUD treatment and reach women who, to date, have not participated or fully realized the benefit of SUD groups.