Achieving zero incidences of preventable treatment errors is the No. 1 priority at the University of New Mexico Sandoval Regional Medical Center in Rio Rancho, which has implemented new patient safety efforts with this end in sight.
According to Ramona Moseley, executive director of quality and patient safety at the community hospital, getting to zero requires trust and employee confidence in reporting any problems.
"When something goes wrong, we want our focus to be on what — rather than who — is the problem," said Ms. Moseley. "We want our staff to know that, not only can they can bring up any concern they may have but that we encourage them to do so. Our intent always is to bring process failures and system issues to light and then to solve them."
With that intent in mind, SRMC has established a multidisciplinary Zero Harm Committee to provide oversight and process improvement.
The committee is the latest addition to the hospital's patient safety efforts. Already, SRMC has implemented initiatives that have improved medication reconciliation at admission by 35 percent and boosted sepsis identification and treatment by 50 percent.
To learn more about SRMC's efforts, click here.
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