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Spotlight: Practicing Absolute Safety at EvergreenHealth

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Practicing Absolute Safety at EvergreenHealth

EvergreenHealth Chief Medical and Quality Officer Dr. Ettore Palazzo shares how the health system, along with patients and families, support a culture of safety, now and always

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Ettore Palazzo, MD,

EvergreenHealth Chief Medical and Quality Officer

EvergreenHealth embraces our responsibility to be experts in delivering safe care—it’s part of our organizational culture and one of the many ways in which we live our values.

Dr. Ettore Palazzo leads clinical quality and safety at EvergreenHealth, overseeing quality and regulatory work, infection control, risk management, pharmacy, medical staff services and hospitalists and intensivists services. Dr. Palazzo joined EvergreenHealth in 2003 and served as an internal medicine hospitalist physician before becoming Quality Medical Director, and later expanding his quality work as the system’s Chief Medical and Quality Officer.

Monitor sat down with Dr. Palazzo to learn about EvergreenHealth’s culture of safety. To read the full interview, visit www.evergreenhealth.com/absolute-safety-qa.

Q:What does safety in health care mean?

A: The terms “safe” and “safety” are used frequently in health care. Keeping patients safe starts with basic safety initiatives, like ensuring our waiting areas are kept impeccably clean, that patients seeking care are properly triaged, that systems are in place for accurate

EMR documentation and that staff and providers are properly educated to provide the best care. All of these are supremely important, though safety goes beyond basic protocols. Safety also includes more complex initiatives, like providing patients the right level of care at the right time.

Q:How does EvergreenHealth invest in safety?

A: Two of the areas where we continually invest in safety are with our people and our technology. It involves providers who work on the frontlines with our patients, and teams who work behind the scenes. Everyone is responsible for safety, which is why we ensure our teams have the education, tools and commitment to uphold safety without exception.

We are also dedicated to the systems, technologies and protocols that represent the latest developments in safety initiatives. SafeLinQ is a digital tool that empowers all staff to report a safety event, such as a patient fall or staff injury, or something that could have resulted in a safety incident. We believe these “near misses” are just

as important to preventing a similar safety event in the future. Each event is examined with an in-depth analysis to inform even safer policies. SafeLinQ submissions aren’t negative or punitive. Rather, they help us learn and provide even safer care.

Q:How is safety measured?

A: Safety is commonly measured with qualitative and quantitative data and through clinical outcomes.

Healthgrades and other organizations provide patients with information about how the safety of a health care system compares to others across the nation. Our unwavering diligence to sustain an environment of absolute safety has helped us achieve recognition as a

Healthgrades Top 100 hospital, as well as earning an

“A” rating for outstanding patient safety from The

Leapfrog Group.

Q:How has EvergreenHealth maintained its commitment to safety throughout the response to COVID-19?

A: Ensuring our patients’ safety is ongoing and constant. We were ready to respond to COVID-19 because of the strength of our systems and protocols. Now, safety continues to be vitally important—from the way we meticulously don and doff our personal protective equipment (PPE), to our standard screening procedures for everyone entering any of our locations, our commitment to absolute safety leads us in our response.

Q:What role do patients and families play in

EvergreenHealth’s culture of safety?

A: Patients are the most important member of the health care team. They help ensure safety by being informed and involved in their care. We encourage patients and families to play active roles by asking questions about their general health or condition. Research shows that patients who are engaged in decisions about their own health care are more likely to get better faster.

Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grade report scores more than 2,600 hospitals, assessing how well they keep patients safe from errors, accidents and infections. EvergreenHealth is one of only 18 hospitals in Washington to achieve an “A” rating this fall.

100% Safe. Always.

As we continue our response to COVID-19, we also continue our commitment to safety every day and night, to protect our families, our patients and one another.

100% Safe Always reminds us to keep our safety precautions top of mind with videos, signage, education and other resources, all related to common, and crucial, COVID-19 safety topics— including our visitor policy, safe distancing, masking, how to have challenging conversations, and many other important topics that require our daily attention and commitment to the safety and care of our community.

Together we continually renew our commitment to protect one another—at work, at home and in our community. Every person, every safety action, every time.

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