ECRI has named Paterson, N.J.-based St. Joseph's Health as the recipient of its 2024 Safety Excellence Award.
The health system was selected based on safety initiatives and evidence-based strategies that led to improved patient outcomes at two of its hospitals, according to a Nov. 13 news release.
After completing the ECRI total systems safety assessment, St. Joseph's Health aligned executive leaders and frontline staff to identify opportunities for improvement. The health system then assembled working groups to develop targeted action plans for four key areas: culture leadership and governance, workplace safety, learning system, and patient and family engagement.
Results from the assessment also inspired St. Joseph's to hold quarterly symposiums focused on patient safety, where successful initiatives are shared as a learning opportunity with team members across the system. Additionally, "safety stories" were introduced into all leadership and board meetings to underscore staff's direct role in improving safety, including the value of incident reporting.
"We are proud of the team at St. Joseph's Health for embracing many of the principles that are foundational for a holistic approach to patient safety," Dheerendra Kommala, MD, chief medical officer at ECRI, said in a news release. "Their commitments to involving leadership at all levels has been instrumental in driving impactful change that's sustainable. This proactive, patient-centered approach sets a new standard that is grounded in transparency and successfully reduces preventable harm."
The ECRI and Institute for Safe Medication Practices present the award on an annual basis to member health systems for safety initiatives based on four main characteristics: achieving a significant level of improvement, promotion of a culture of safety, the reproducibility and scalability of an initiative, and innovative use of ECRI and ISMP resources to guide improvement.