In 2015, Catholic Health introduced the High Reliability Organization (HRO) journey to Mercy Hospital. The intention of this journey was to achieve quality, safety and efficiency performance goals to reduce levels of potentially preventable, clinical harm that can occur in the high risk industry of healthcare service delivery. Hospitals measure clinical events at all different levels, from the most minor safety events to the most significant.
The Safety Starts with Me component of our HRO program began in 2017 with baseline data collection occurring in calendar year 2018. Over these two years, structural development of the program commenced to build a strong foundation for future sustainability of improved performance. Post the baseline year, various action plans were implemented as more knowledge was gained regarding opportunities to prevent harm. Foundational build and action plans for the program included:
Just Culture Training
Development of Daily Patient Safety Principles
Safety Coach Program
Safety Huddles and Safety Committees
Rounding to Influence on Safety Issues
Forum for Sharing Error Prevention Best Practices
Methodology for analyzing safety events – Root Cause and Apparent Cause Analysis
Event Tracking and Analytics
Information Sharing with the Board of Directors
Mercy Hospital has demonstrated significant success in reducing patient harm since the inception of the program. An example of that achievement is the hospital’s outcomes for hospital-acquired pressure injuries. Baseline data indicated an opportunity for the organization to improve wound care. Safety Starts with Me program components were utilized to address the topic and apply action plans that produced improved results as demonstrated below.
Outcome Data
Mercy Hospital will continue to pursue program development and action planning to ensure patients receive the safest care within our organization.