Patient Safety Authority

#KnockOutTheFluPA With the Philadelphia Phillies!

The Philadelphia Phillies and the Patient Safety Authority are teaming up against the flu! And there’s still time for you to join the roster by getting your flu shot. Take it from Phillies alumnus Mickey Morandini and Phanatic: Getting vaccinated is easier and more important than ever this year. Check local stores, pharmacies, and hospitals for a flu clinic near you. Play it like a winner and step up to help #KnockOutTheFluPA!

Telemetry Monitoring in PA — Eliminating Dead Batteries & End-of-Life Alarms

In this video, staff at Einstein Health Einstein Healthcare Network share how they implemented a consistent battery change schedule, which showed a steep reduction in battery failures and subsequent unmonitored patients. #PatientSafetyMonitoring #ThoughtfulTelemetry Participants: Lisa Adam, MSN, RN - Director, #Telemetry and Stepdown Melissa Corliss, Monitor Technician Kelly Romano, MPH - Director, Infection Control and Patient Safety For more information and resources for telemetry monitoring, visit http://patientsafety.pa.gov/pst/Pages/Telemetry/hm.aspx#

Developing a National Action Plan for Patient Safety (Part 3)

Dr. Tejal Gandhi, IHI Senior Fellow, and Dr. Jeffrey Brady, AHRQ, co-chairs of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement - IHI's National Steering Committee for Patient Safety, discuss how the committee developed its new National Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety. Download the National Action Plan and related tools and resources at www.ihi.org/SafetyActionPlan Read more from this interview in PATIENT SAFETY: https://patientsafetyj.com/index.php/patientsaf/article/view/national-action-plan

Telemetry Monitoring in PA — Ensuring Continuous Monitoring Through a Hospital Visit

In this video, staff at Mount Nittany Health share their robust process to ensure continuous #telemetry monitoring of a patient during interdepartmental transfers. Participants: Tiffany Cabibbo, DSc, MSN, RN - Executive Vice President, Patient Care Services, and CNO Denelle Weller, RN Jordan Robinson - Monitor Surveillance Clerk For more information and resources for telemetry monitoring, visit http://patientsafety.pa.gov/pst/Pages/Telemetry/hm.aspx #PatientSafetyMonitoring #ThoughtfulTelemetry

Telemetry Monitoring in PA — Alarm Fatigue: A Clinical Emergency Waiting to Happen

In this video, staff at Good Shepherd Penn Partners describe how they developed a shared mental model and approached alarm management from a multidisciplinary perspective, which resulted in a 40% decrease in alarms. Participants: Heather Cialello, RN Michelle Lockett, RN Gregory Mayro, MD - Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine Zygmunt Morawski - Manager, Respiratory Therapy Andrew Paris, MD - Pulmonary Medicine Anne Marie Pettit, MSN, RN - Nursing Professional Development Strategist Nina Renzi, BSN, RN - Manager, Patient Safety and Regulatory Affairs For more information and resources for telemetry monitoring, visit http://patientsafety.pa.gov/pst/Pages/Telemetry/hm.aspx #TelemetryMonitoring #AlarmFatigue

Developing a National Action Plan for Patient Safety (Part 2)

Dr. Tejal Gandhi, IHI Senior Fellow, and Dr. Jeffrey Brady, AHRQ, co-chairs of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement - IHI's National Steering Committee for Patient Safety, discuss why now is the time to release a new National Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety. Download the National Action Plan and related tools and resources at www.ihi.org/SafetyActionPlan Read more from this interview in PATIENT SAFETY: https://patientsafetyj.com/index.php/patientsaf/article/view/national-action-plan

Telemetry Monitoring in PA — Introduction

In this video, national experts share how to strike a balance between leveraging #telemetry alerts without overloading staff, how to make alarms actionable, and what's next in this field. Participants: Kristin Sandau, PhD, RN - Professor of Nursing, Bethel University, Chair of the 2017 AHA Committee's "Update to Practice Standards for ECG Monitoring in the Hospital Setting" Marjorie Funk, PhD, RN - Professor Emerita, Yale University, Co-Chair of the 2017 AHA Committee's "Update to Practice Standards for ECG Monitoring in the Hospital Setting" Rakesh Gopinathannair, MD, MA - Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratories, Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute Dan Cantillon, MD - Cardiovascular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Regina Hoffman, MBA, RN - Executive Director, Patient Safety Authority For more information and resources for telemetry monitoring, visit http://patientsafety.pa.gov/pst/Pages/Telemetry/hm.aspx #TelemetryMonitoring #AlarmFatigue

Telemetry Monitoring in Pennsylvania (Trailer)

Have you been suffering #alarmfatigue? Clinicians rely on #TelemetryMonitoring every day to care for patients, but it can be a double-edged sword: With more ways to track every aspect of patients’ health, come more alerts—and the risk of becoming desensitized to them. We interviewed national experts and hospital staff about how they overcame patient safety challenges related to #telemetry. Our four-part video series, Telemetry Monitoring in Pennsylvania, highlights the need to review and improve processes, and presents best practices and lessons learned, which may help guide you in your own work. For more information and resources, visit http://patientsafety.pa.gov/pst/Pages/Telemetry/hm.aspx#

How to Improve Patient Safety Throughout the Coordination of Care for the Surgical Patient

Penny Hoover, BSN, RN, nurse paralegal and Continue Service Readiness (CSR) nurse consultant for Joint Commission Resources describes how the lack of care coordination during handoff increases surgical patient safety events, helps healthcare providers recognize areas in the surgical department where a lack of care coordination poses the greatest threat, and discusses how to standardize care coordination during handoff with an evidence-based communication tool.

#KnockOutTheFluPA

This short video explains why everyone should get the #FluShot every year, and why it's more important now than ever—to help protect you and your loved ones from getting #influenza alongside #COVID19. #KnockOutTheFluPA #vaccination

Developing a National Action Plan for Patient Safety (Part 1)

Last week the Institute for Healthcare Improvement - IHI's National Steering Committee for Patient Safety (NSC) released a new National Action Plan to help healthcare leaders, organizations, and associations make significant progress toward safer care and reduced harm for patients. Here, NSC co-chairs Dr. Tejal Gandhi and Dr. Jeff Brady describe the guiding document for clinicians and patients. Read more from their interview in the September 2020 issue of PATIENT SAFETY (https://patientsafetyj.com/index.php/patientsaf/article/view/national-action-plan) and download the National Action Plan at www.ihi.org/SafetyActionPlan.

Leading with Technology During the Social Isolation of COVID-19

Jeffrey Bomba, MBA, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patient care manager, AHN Jefferson, and Irma D’Antonio, MSN, manager of nursing quality and patient experience, AHN Jefferson, share their experience treating the first COVID-19-positive patient in Western Pennsylvania. As the world was still beginning to grapple with the new virus, the Jefferson Hospital ICU team dynamically shifted operations to overcome the pandemic-induced care gaps, including leveraging telemedicine to ensure consistent around-the-clock intensivist coverage. The team also incorporated strategies learned by other facilities treating COVID-19 patients. These interventions decreased length of stay and improved patient outcomes. In addition, their innovative use of mobile device technology allowed patients and families to connect safely, and a dedicated team of nurses provided comfort and support through the unprecedented times.

Maternal Morbidity & Mortality: Together We Will Make a Difference

In this webinar, our presenters identify Pennsylvania trends and themes related to maternal morbidity and mortality as reported through PA-PSRS, describe the strategies implemented by California to decrease maternal mortality rates and how to work toward sustainability, discuss the initiatives being implemented by the Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative (PAPQC), and identify value of participation in the collaboration.

Warning on Hand Sanitizer Products Containing Methanol

Our own JoAnn Adkins, senior infection preventionist, recently talked with Amy Kehm at Good Day PA on ABC27 about the dangers of hand sanitizer products that contain #methanol. (Since this recording, the number of products on the FDA’s watch list have increased from nine to nearly 90.) JoAnn cautions people to read the label—safe and effective #handsanitizers must contain at least 60% ethyl alcohol (ethanol). You also should supervise kids when they use hand sanitizer to make sure they don’t ingest it. And although hand sanitizers are a good substitute in the absence of soap and water, #handwashing is the best way to prevent spreading germs: use soap, lather for 20 seconds, rinse with warm water, and dry with a paper towel.

Healthcare-Acquired Pneumonia in Long-Term Care

Pneumonia is the second most common cause of infection in long-term care residents. It carries a high mortality rate among residents and is a major cause of hospital transfer. Aspiration and failure of the body’s defense mechanisms is the major risk factor for the development of pneumonia among residents. The Patient Safety Authority offers many valuable educational tools to assist you in preventing infection and promoting resident safety. This webinar focuses on the poster Preventing Non-ventilator Healthcare Acquired Pneumonia which highlights aspiration prevention and good pulmonary hygiene.

Preventing Elder Suicide as an End-of-Life Outcome: What Providers Should Know

Tony Salvatore, MA, director of suicide prevention at Montgomery County Emergency Service (MCES), describes incidence and rates of suicide among elders in Pennsylvania, risk and protective factors for elder suicide, current concepts of suicide as applied to elders, and measures for reducing suicide risk of elders in healthcare settings.

Ann E. Miller, MSN, RN, senior patient safety specialist at UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside, describes the value a Culture of Safety Survey brings to a healthcare organization, discusses three successful initiatives that enhance the safety culture, and identifies an initiative that you can implement in your area to improve the safety culture

Happy for the Frazzled in Healthcare

Improving quality and patient safety is hard work. In fact, at times the work can seem like drudgery or like we are pushing a boulder up a steep hill. The personal toll for those who are the “helpers” of healthcare (à la Fred Rogers) can be overwhelming, tiring, and depressing. You are a person first—before you are a health professional. In this webinar, Diane C. Frndak, PhD, MBA, and Holly Hampe, DSc, MHA, assistant professors of health services administration leadership at Robert Morris University, focus on the science of flourishing as a heart-centered journey creating a real-time community of like-minded people. They introduce key positive psychology skills for creating greater happiness and well-being, such as mindfulness, gratitude, strengths, flow, humor, positivity, stress management, and resilience. This session is a breath of fresh air and an act of self-care for the self-identified FRAZZLED.

Burnout, Depression & COVID-19

SaraKay Smullens and Dr. Stanton Smullens will answer your questions about COVID-19 and the toll it has taken on our mental health, and how you can help yourself or a loved one get through these unprecedented times.

Conducting Risk Assessments & Developing Risk Strategies in Behavioral & Non-Behavioral Environments

In this webinar from May 14, 2020, Carol VanZile, LCSW, director of behavioral health regulatory compliance accreditation at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, identifies environmental risks of suicide and safety in hospitals, measures to mitigate ligature risk, and ways to increase staff confidence in treating behavioral health patients.

Providing Safe and Inclusive Care for the LGBTQ Population

Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community have long described experiencing stigma, and lack awareness and education about their needs in healthcare environments. Delay or lack of treatment for medical and psychiatric symptoms is a patient safety issue that can lead to poor patient outcomes. In this webinar, we invited Adrian Shanker, executive director of Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center and editor of recently published Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health (PM Press, March 2020), to discuss the importance of listening to LGBTQ patient experiences and steps healthcare facilities can take to provide a safe, inclusive environment.

COVID-19 and Childcare Infection Prevention and Strategies

With recent awareness of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and other COVID-19–related health issues, many parents, healthcare workers, and daycare teachers are understandably concerned about how to keep kids and staff safe in childcare facilities. In this new webinar, PSA experts share some simple but important strategies to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, including how to screen children for symptoms, daily infection prevention actions for staff, and hand hygiene best practices.

Ask an Infection Preventionist

As part of their ongoing support to Pennsylvania facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, PSA senior infection preventionists JoAnn Adkins and Terri Lee Roberts recently hosted a series of “Ask an Infection Preventionist” webinars. In this first installment, they address some common questions, such as “What are the differences between social distancing, quarantine, and isolation?” and “How do you clean/disinfect/sterilize a mask?” They also shared important COVID-19 and infection prevention resources to help keep you and your patients healthy.

PHL17 Interview with Dr. Stanton Smullens on Burnout

This morning, Dr. Stanton Smullens, board chair of the Patient Safety Authority, spoke with PHL17 about clinician burnout, how it has been amplified by the #COVID19 pandemic, and four strategies everyone—especially frontline healthcare workers—can use to protect their mental health during this difficult time.

The Risks of Invasive Group A Streptococcus in Long-Term Care

Invasive group A Streptococcus (iGAS) can cause severe, life-threatening illness among the elderly, particularly long-term care (LTC) residents. The incidence of iGAS infection is higher among long-term care residents than among community members of the same age, and residents who develop iGAS infections have significant morbidity and mortality risk due to advanced age, close living conditions, and comorbidities (e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular disease). Outbreaks of iGAS in LTC facilities in the United States and Canada have mortality rates of 8% to 40%. Because of the potential severity of illness, even a single case of iGAS requires public health action. In this webinar, JoAnn Adkins, BSN, RN, senior infection preventionist at the Patient Safety Authority, discusses the incidence of iGAS in Pennsylvania LTC facilities and ways to prevent the spread in a facility.

Patient Safety Q&A with Regina Hoffman #5

"What is the Patient Safety Authority doing about #COVID19 and are they still available to provide education?" Recorded 3/11/2020 #askpatientsafety

Patient Safety Q&A with Regina Hoffman #4

Should your employer consider remote working for its employees? Recorded 3/11/2020 #askpatientsafety #COVID19 #coronavirus

Patient Safety Q&A with Regina Hoffman #3

What can healthcare providers and systems do to prepare for and minimize the risk of #COVID19? #askpatientsafety Recorded 3/11

Patient Safety Q&A with Regina Hoffman #2

What are the symptoms of COVID-19 and should I go to the hospital if I have them? #askpatientsafety #coronavirus

Positive Outcomes to Patient Safety By Applying Lean Fundamentals in Healthcare

The concept of "lean" is all about maximizing customer value while minimizing waste—creating more value for customers with fewer resources. But what does that have to do with healthcare? Find out in this webinar! Michael Hogan, lean master and lean design specialist for the Business Improvement Group, LLC., identifies lean design methods to improve process and flow for positive patient safety outcomes and satisfaction. And Wendy S. Fitts, MHA, BSN, director of quality at Penn Medicine–Lancaster General Health, discusses how lean management systems promote safe and reliable care, and how the use of data improves patient safety and quality investigations.