Next week, March 10-16, all who work in health care have an opportunity to recognize National Patient Safety Awareness Week, an annual event that calls us to reinforce our commitment to provide the safest and highest quality care possible and to remind all of us that the well-being of patients is paramount.
That commitment includes a goal of zero preventable harm. For the patients who look to hospitals for healing and hope, and who count on all of you to keep their loved ones safe, this speaks to the heart of the commitment of attaining zero preventable harm.
That’s the mindset of everyone who chooses to work in health care and in California’s hospitals. They come to work every day with the goal of helping those in need. When accidents or mistakes happen, health care workers who were involved are devastated, experiencing stress, anxiety, guilt, shame, and more.
That’s why building a reliable and sustainable culture of safety — a consistent, empathetic, and transparent response to patient harm and effective and proactive care of the caregivers — is critical. Health care workers can’t be at their best for patients if they are working in fear or with other negative emotions.
California’s Hospital Quality Institute (HQI), the quality and patient safety arm of your association, has been working with BETA Healthcare for the past several years to build HQI Cares, which provides a path to open communication, transparency, and honest disclosure of adverse events.
All of this fosters trust, accountability, and continuous improvement.
More than 60 California hospitals already participate in HQI Cares, and they report marked progress toward an environment where every patient feels secure, every family fully trusts their health care provider, and every health care professional feels fulfilled, empowered, and confident.
This year, as we mark Patient Safety Awareness Week, I encourage you to take a look at HQI Cares to see if it’s the right fit for your organization.
We stand ready to help and support your patient safety journey. Contact HQI President Robert Imhoff at rimhoff@hqinstitute.org if you’d like to learn more.
