The Journey of the Purple Butterfly: A Quality Improvement Initiative

Introduction: Dying in the hospital is not always a good experience for patients and their families. To be more in line with evidence-based practices for healthcare workers to effectively support high quality end of life care, the project team implemented a standardized communication tool to alert interdisciplinary team members of patients on comfort care measures. Methods: Purple Butterfly was a quality improvement project that was implemented at a diverse community hospital in the urban setting. Clinical and non-clinical interdisciplinary team members participated in a pre- and post- implementation survey to assess the need for a standardized communication tool that would alert them of patients who transitioned to comfort care. Results: Pre-implementation, 37% of survey respondents (n = 60) reported they were always aware of the presence of a patient on comfort care measures prior to entering the room. After implementation of a standardized communication tool, 100% (n = 43) of respondents at 9 months, reported that they were always aware of the presence of a patient on comfort care measures prior to entering the room. Additionally, 9 months post-intervention 100% of respondents reported that knowing this contextual information supported them in performing their job duties in a compassionate, patient-centered fashion. Conclusion: Implementation of a standardized communication tool increased awareness for team members, about the presence of patients on comfort care measures prior to entering the room and supported team members to perform their job duties in a compassionate, patient-centered fashion supportive of this patient population.