In 2015, at St. Francis Hospital, Catholic Health introduced the High Reliability Organization (HRO) journey toward eliminating potentially preventable, clinical harm that can occur in the high risk industry of healthcare service delivery. Hospitals measure clinical events at all levels, from minor safety events to the most significant.
The Safety Starts with Me component of our HRO program began in 2017, with baseline data collection occurring in calendar year 2018. Over these two years, structural development of the program created a strong foundation of improved performance and sustainability of improvement. After the baseline year, as more knowledge was gained and opportunities to prevent harm were identified, multiple action plans were implemented. Foundational build and action plans for the program included:
Just Culture Training
Development of Daily Patient Safety Principles
Safety Coach Program
Safety Huddles and Safety Committees
Rounding to Influence on Safety Issues
Forum for Sharing Error Prevention Best Practices
Methodology for analyzing safety events – Root Cause and Apparent Cause Analysis
Event Tracking and Analytics
Information Sharing with the Board of Directors
Since the inception of the program, St. Francis Hospital has demonstrated significant achievement in reducing patient harm An example of that success is the hospital’s outcomes for hospital-acquired pressure injuries. Baseline data indicated an opportunity for the organization to improve wound care. As demonstrated below, the Safety Starts with Me program components were utilized to address the topic and apply action plans. These efforts produced improved results on this journey toward our goal of “zero preventable harm.”
Outcome Data
St. Francis Hospital will continue to pursue program development and action planning to ensure that our patients receive the safest care.