Defense Health Network Indo-Pacific wraps up successful Patient Safety Awareness Week
Courtesy Photo |
The Defense Health Network Indo-Pacific staff conducted a week-long schedule of......read moreread more
Courtesy Photo | The Defense Health Network Indo-Pacific staff conducted a week-long schedule of education and fun to promote patient safety March 8 to 13. Patient Safety Awareness week is recognized by military and civilian hospitals nationally every year in March to promote patient safety and recognize healthcare professionals, non-clinical staff, patients and families for the role they play in healthcare safety. Pictured here from the Medical Affairs team, (from left to right) front row: Ke’ala Kiakona, credentialing and privileging lead; Amy Brender, patient safety lead; and Suny Crete, accreditation and compliance lead. Back row: Jennifer Whitton, healthcare risk management lead; Seema Singh, epidemiologist and lead infection preventionist; Dr. John Reardon, quality management; and Dr. Megan Kloetzel, deputy assistant director for clinical quality management. see less
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Defense Health Network Indo-Pacific wraps up successful Patient Safety Awareness Week
Members of Defense Health Network Indo-Pacific conducted a week-long schedule of education and fun to promote patient safety March 8 to 13. Patient Safety Awareness week is recognized by military and civilian hospitals nationally every year in March to promote patient safety and recognize healthcare professionals, non-clinical staff, patients and families for the role they play in healthcare safety.
“It serves as an important opportunity to elevate the shared responsibility that every member of the healthcare team holds,” said Amy Brender, patient safety lead for DHN-IP. “While this is all supposed to be embedded in daily practice, dedicating this time every year reinforces its central role.”
Members of the DHN-IP staff participated in events throughout the week, as did staff from the network’s Military Treatment Facilities, which include seven parent military treatment facilities and more than 40 supporting medical and dental facilities in Washington, California, Hawaii, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
The DHN-IP network kicked off the week with a video watch party focused on the power of gratitude. Other events included a patient safety trivia tournament, an escape room, and sharing articles about evidence-based improvements to patient outcomes and how to identify patient safety risks and report complaints.
The MTFs conducted their own activities. Staff at Tripler Army Medical Center held a scavenger hunt and a Room of Errors challenge, participated in TeamSTEPPS® (Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety) training, and created safety videos. Meanwhile, Naval Health Clinic Hawaii held Olympic Game World Search Puzzle and Room of Errors competitions, decorated doorways and halls, and held a continuous process improvement fair.
Brender acknowledge all the work the MTF staffs put into Patient Safety Awareness Week.
“I know that it is a huge lift for the MTF patient safety managers, said Brender. “They put a lot of work into this with money that usually comes out of their own pocket.”
Despite the hard work, Brender thinks the effort is worth it. “If measured by the smiles on people’s faces, then I consider it a success. When we at the network start off our week with an inspirational speaker, it sets the positive intentions of the week.”
Seema Singh, epidemiologist and lead infection preventionist for DHN-IP agrees. “Even if one person learned something new, it was worth it,” said Singh.
The patient safety program’s mission is to promote a culture of safety to end preventable patient harm by engaging, educating and equipping patient-care teams to put evidence-based safe practices in place across the organization.
As a network lead, Brender serves as a resource for patient safety-related questions. She ensures that medical and dental facilities are in compliance with Defense Health Agency patient safety initiatives, such as Ready Reliable Care Safety Communication Bundle, Patient Safety Culture Survey, National Performance Goals, TeamSTEPPS®, Closed Loop communications, Joint Patient Safety Reporting, and Leapfrog.
“This is made possible with consistent open communication and reliable availability despite multiple time zones,” according to Brender.
Patient safety is a high priority in DHN-IP, and according to Brender all network patient safety professionals adhere to the same evidence-based, nationally recognized patient safety standards as the civilian sector. Standards are provided by The Joint Commission (TJC), National Quality Forum (NQF), Association for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and most recently, Leapfrog.
DHA has the final say on safety practices, according to Brender, but these are “important practices that ensure safe medication practices, accurate patient identification, infection prevention, safe surgical procedures, communication among caregivers, and fostering a just culture.”
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