Patient Safety: A Road Taken Together

Jacksonville, Florida
Monday, February 26, 2007 @ 12:00 PM EST
by: Debra Wilson
(904) 390-3660
dwilson@nemours.org

Nemours, one of the nation's largest children's health systems, will promote National Patient Safety Awareness Week during the week of March 5, 2007. During the week various activities will take place that emphasize the collaborative role of patients and their medial caregivers to assure patient safety.

Nemours Risk Management and Quality staff will be onsite to educate both patients and staff. Patients will be given handouts that provide information from the Institute for Safe Medication Practice (ISMP), a nonprofit organization educating the healthcare community and consumers about safe Medication Practices.

Additionally, patients will be introduced to the "Speak UP" initiative from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, which urges patients to get involved in their healthcare decisions. The initiative provides simple advice on how patients can improve their health outcomes by learning to:

• Speak up if you have questions or concerns and, if you don't understand, ask again.  It's your body and your have a right to know.
• Pay attention to the care you are receiving. Make sure you're getting the right treatments and medications by the right healthcare professionals. Don't assume anything.
• Educate yourself about your diagnosis, the medical tests you are undergoing, and your treatment plan.
• Ask a trusted family member or friend to be your advocate.
• Know what medications you take and why you take them. Medication errors are the most common healthcare mistakes.
• Use a hospital that has undergone a rigorous on-site evaluation against established, state-of-the-art quality and safety standards, such as that provided by the Joint Commission.
• Participate in all decisions about your treatment. You are the center of the healthcare team.

Nemours welcomes the opportunity to discuss this important topic with the media and extends an invitation to you to attend our onsite awareness campaign.

modified: Monday, August 06, 2007 @ 12:46 PM EDT
created: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 @ 02:36 PM EDT

About Nemours

Nemours, one of the nation’s largest pediatric health systems, is dedicated to achieving higher standards in children’s health. Nemours offers an integrated spectrum of clinical treatment coupled with research, advocacy, and educational health and prevention services extending to all families in the communities it serves. Starting with Alfred I. duPont’s bequest over seventy years ago, Nemours has grown into a multi-dimensional organization offering personalized clinical and preventive care focused on children.

Nemours owns and operates the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware and major children’s specialty clinics in Delaware (Wilmington), Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr) and New Jersey (Atlantic City and Voorhees). Having recently received preliminary approval from the State of Florida, Nemours will establish a new full-service children’s hospital as part of an integrated pediatric health campus in Orlando. KidsHealth.org, the world’s most visited pediatric health care Web site for parents, kids and teens, is a project of Nemours.

Nemours employs over 4,400 individuals, including 430 pediatric physicians, specialists and surgeons who cared for approximately a quarter of a million children in 2007. The organization’s goal is to align with parents, physicians, community leaders, children’s advocates and elected officials to ensure optimal wellness for every child. Additional information about Nemours can be found at www.nemours.org.