NPSF Announces Recipients of 2013 Stand Up for Patient Safety Management Award

The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) has announced the winners of the 2013 Stand Up For Patient Safety Management Award. The award for a hospital-based project will go to JPS Health Network of Fort Worth, Texas. The award for ambulatory care will be given to the 97th Medical Group, Altus AFB, in Altus, Oklahoma.

The Stand Up for Patient Safety Management Awards will be conferred at the 15th Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress to be held May 8-10, 2013, in New Orleans.

The Patient Safety Management Award is given in recognition of the successful implementation of an outstanding patient safety initiative led or created by mid-level management within a member organization of the NPSF Stand Up for Patient Safety program. The initiative must have demonstrated evidence of patient safety improvement, with involvement of staff at all levels of the organization.

JPS Health Network was chosen for an initiative designed to help prevent fires in the operating room (OR). Although OR fires are rare, a 2009 report by ECRI Institute cited them as among the top 10 technology hazards in health care. The JPS team adapted the Patient Fire Risk Assessment Tool (developed by the Association of periOperative Nurses) and trained the entire OR staff in how to use the tool and what to do to mitigate fire risk.

“Though we had not experienced a fire in the OR, everyone recognized that this initiative was a positive and important change to our standard of care to reduce the risk,” said Trudy Sanders, RN, vice president, patient services.

The 97th Medical Group, based at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma, provides care for 9,500 service people and their families in the surrounding communities. They are being recognized for a program designed to standardize pediatric visits through use of checklists that were developed in consultation with all stakeholders—clinical providers, ancillary medical staff, and parents.

“Our goal was to make sure that every parent could answer the question, ‘How do I know I am getting everything I need each time I bring my child to the doctor,’” said Mark H. Smithwick, MBA, patient safety program manager, 97th Medical Group. “Although we are still in the early stages, we have seen positive results in the form of increased immunization rates as well as parents characterizing the visits as ‘thorough.’”

This year marks the first time that two awards are being given. “Our Stand Up for Patient Safety program continues to be a highly valuable offering and continues to spread into the inpatient and ambulatory arenas,” said Patricia McGaffigan, RN, MS, interim president, NPSF. “Because we received numerous submissions from both settings, and because of our commitment to recognize excellence in mid-level management safety projects, we felt it was important to begin recognizing both an inpatient and ambulatory award this year and in the future.”

The awards will be conferred at the Stand Up for Patient Safety Member Breakfast on May 10, 2013. Mr. Smithwick will accept the award on behalf of his organization. Kami Walker, patient safety officer, will accept the award for JPS Health Network.