4 HEALTH COMPASS FALL 2024 Each morning, caregivers in the CMHOHSU Health General Surgery Clinic meet in front of their Safety Huddle Board. Manager Leslie Claterbos starts the day by going through several safety statistics and issues that are currently being worked on. The team looks ahead, discussing the expected patients and projects that day, and looks back at the days and weeks past, to see if any improvements can be made. Across the hospital’s campus, clinics and administrative departments, leaders start their shifts in a similar way, ensuring that each team has an eye on safety — for patients and caregivers. Although daily huddles aren’t new, the Safety Huddle Boards are. They’re a part of CMH’s drive to become a High Reliability Organization (HRO), a project that started in late 2023 with our partner, Press Ganey. HROs consistently perform with the same results in repeated tests — that means no errors. Why is CMH embarking on this journey? The hospital has chosen to become an HRO because medical errors result in patient deaths and injuries every year at health care organizations around the world. Not only that — health care organizations are some of the most dangerous places to work. Workplace injuries and illnesses are much more likely to occur in health care than in other industries. With patients and caregivers in the balance, it is imperative that CMH be highly reliable and safe. Our goal is to shift our culture and implement new tools to improve safety. Over the past year, everyone at CMH has undergone training on the principles of HROs. Safety is discussed every single day, and caregivers are encouraged to speak up when they see something unsafe. There are also Safety Coaches throughout the organization. Safety Coaches are front-line safety “super users” who can answer questions, identify opportunities to use HRO skills and lead by example. Caregiver and Patient Safety Event teams meet weekly to analyze safety events, create SAFETY FIRST in our drive for high reliability
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