Vim & Vigor - Winter 2008 - (Page 48)

blood or perform a test or procedure, he or she will check your bracelet and ask you to provide your name and other information. “It’s not that they don’t know who you are,” Foster says. “It’s a vital double-checking process and one of the most visible examples of good safety practices.” This is especially important when it comes to reducing medication errors. Knowing who’s who can prevent Mrs. Jones from receiving Mrs. Johnson’s medication, Foster says. Patient safety also involves ensuring that only qualiﬁed personnel are working with patients. Whenever personnel come into your room, they should identify who they are and why they are there. If they don’t, you should ask. Many other safety measures are invisible to patients. For example, the settings required to connect hoses to give a patient oxygen are different from those required to administer other gases, so a patient who needs oxygen won’t get anesthesia by mistake. operating room procedures Sanitization is particularly stringent in operating rooms and procedure rooms. And just like the doctors on TV, healthcare professionals meticulously “scrub in” to further ensure a sterile environment. There’s another precaution you’ll notice before a surgical procedure: The surgeon or a member of the surgical team will mark the surgical site on your body before you’re put under sedation or anesthesia. “It’s a reinforcement to assure everyone—including you, the patient—that the right procedure is being performed on the right person,” Foster says. Patients at St. Anthony Central Hospital and St. Anthony North Hospital have a half-dozen assurances of safety beyond those required by the Joint Commission. As part of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), both hospitals are committed to the six “over-and-above” initiatives CHI sets annually for its member providers. “This fiscal year, our CHI initiatives include four clinical areas and two directly affecting worker safety,” says St. Anthony Central Patient Safety Manager Sue Jones. They include: • Anticoagulation therapy protocols to heighten safety of patients on blood thinners. • Expansion of the Rapid Response program. • Enhancement of the existing fall-prevention program to further decrease hospital falls by 50 percent. • Computerized incident reporting to speed problem resolution and place necessary “safety nets” faster. • Creating a culture of safety that encourages workers to report injuries. • Involving experienced personnel in new-worker injury prevention education. six more safeguards take charge home, safe home As your hospital visit comes to an end, it’s vitally important that your care team gives you all the information you need to recover fully—and safely. “About 15 percent of patients wind up back in the hospital because they don’t understand their discharge instructions,” Foster says. “Ask questions until you know exactly how to take care of yourself when you return home.” Want to learn more information about being your own patient-safety advocate? Visit the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality website at ahrq.gov and click the “Consumers & Patients” header. go 48 vim & vigor · winte r 2 008 http://www.ahrq.gov

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Winter 2008

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2008 Contents Friendly Faces For Your Health 'Tis the Season to be Safe Eat Your Veggies Joint Effort Fresh Beginnings Decades of Opportunity Keeping Score Your Big Give Roll Up Your Sleeve Tidings of Comfort and Health Blueprint for Safety The Smoke-Free Mom-to-Be Childbirth Trends Moms Choosing Midwives Community Sections Dollars & Sense Ask the Experts

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2008

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