Safety Highlights

HealthEast hospitals participate in statewide safety and quality activities:

We participate in the Minnesota Hospital Association's Patient Safety Registry. This allows us to share safety resources and knowledge with hospitals across the state.
Our hospitals are committed to providing information to our patients and their families. We completed the Leapfrog Group survey at www.leapfroggroup.org.
HealthEast hospitals are accredited by the Joint Commission and meet the JCAHO National Patient Safety Goals.

Patient safety focus areas

Surgical

Improving communication between the surgeon and the nurse
Improving communication among the surgical team members
Allowing adequate time for the surgical count
Opening supply packages away from the patient
Working with manufacturers and the FDA to package supplies differently
Developing new ways to track objects used in surgical procedures
Purchasing surgical sponges and other materials that are easier to track and count
Making sure that surgery teams are pausing before surgery to review patient information
Marking the surgical site prior to surgery
Increasing the use of x-rays in the operating room to identify the correct surgery site

Pressure ulcers/bed sores

Conducting extensive staff training on skin inspection and pressure ulcer prevention
Completing skin inspection upon admission to identify patients at risk and treat accordingly
Using Wound Ostomy Continence nurses for consultation
Using pressure reduction surfaces and other special equipment for patients at risk for pressure ulcers
Providing tools and methods to routinely assess patients at risk for pressure ulcers
Establish protocols to make sure patients at risk for pressure ulcers are re-positioned on a regular basis
Increasing the involvement of all staff in pressure ulcer prevention

Safe site surgery

Policy and procedure ensure that the correct site and procedure is done:

Patient or family asked to verify
Consent form states procedure and site
Site is marked if left or right
Surgeon confirms procedure and site before patient brought to OR
In the OR, a "pause for the cause" occurs to confirm patient, procedure and site before beginning surgery

Patient identification

Policy and procedure ensure accurate identification of patients before giving medication, blood products or taking blood samples, or before surgery or other invasive procedure:

Use at least two unique identifiers to establish a patient's identification
Verify identification by asking the patient to state their full name and date of birth/staff checks medical record number
Check the patient's ID band

Medication safety

We have prohibited certain abbreviations and are discouraging the use of others.
For verbal orders, to verify the order, policy requires the person receiving the order to first write the order as they hear it, and then "read back" the complete order for verification.

Special projects

Reducing ventilator-associated pneumonia in ICU patients
Reducing central venous catheter infections in ICU patients

2007 JCAHO Patient Safety Goals

Goal: Improve the accuracy of patient identification.

Use at least two patient identifiers (neither to be the patient's room number) whenever administering medications or blood products; taking blood samples and other specimens for clinical testing; or providing any other treatments or procedures.

Goal: Improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers.

For verbal or telephone orders or for telephonic reporting of critical test results, verify the complete order or test result by having the person receiving the order or test result "read-back" the complete order or test result.
Standardize a list of abbreviations, acronyms and symbols that are not to be used throughout the organization.
Measure, assess and, if appropriate, take action to improve the timeliness of reporting, and the timeliness of receipt by the responsible licensed caregiver, of critical test results and values.
Implement a standardized approach to "hand off" communications, including an opportunity to ask and respond to questions.

Goal: Improve the safety of using medications.

Standardize and limit the number of drug concentrations available in the organization.
Identify and, at a minimum, annually review a list of look-alike/sound-alike drugs used in the organization, and take action to prevent errors involving the interchange of these drugs.
Label all medications, medication containers (e.g., syringes, medicine cups, basins) or other solutions on and off the sterile field in perioperative and other procedural settings.

Goal: Reduce the risk of health care-associated infections.

Comply with current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) hand hygiene guidelines.
Manage as sentinel events all identified cases of unanticipated death or major permanent loss of function associated with a health care-associated infection.

Goal: Accurately and completely reconcile medications across the continuum of care.

Implement a process for obtaining and documenting a complete list of the patient's current medications upon the patient's admission to the organization and with the involvement of the patient. This process includes a comparison of the medications the organization provides to those on the list.

A complete list of the patient's medications is communicated to the next provider of service when a patient is referred or transferred to another setting, service, practitioner or level of care within or outside the organization. The complete list of medications is also provided to the patient on discharge from the facility.

Goal: Reduce the risk of patient harm resulting from falls.

Implement a fall reduction program and evaluate the effectiveness of the program.

Goal: Encourage patients' active involvement in their own care as a patient safety strategy.

Define and communicate the means for patients and their families to report concerns about safety and encourage them to do so.

Goal: The organization identifies safety risks inherent in its patient population.

The organization identifies patients at risk for suicide. (Applicable to psychiatric hospitals and patients being treated for emotional or behavioral disorders in general hospitals.)