Patient safety a priority at CRMC

Patient safety is a team effort and the ultimate priority at Cookeville Regional Medical Center, which has ranked high in the state in patient safety since 2014.

March 14-20 is National Patient Safety Awareness Week and there will be a variety of activities in the hospital to spotlight the week.

“While our aim at Cookeville Regional Medical Center has always been zero preventable harm for all of our patients, we are proud to announce that since this increased patient safety focus CRMC has made remarkable strides in keeping our patients safe,” said Buffy Key, CRMC chief operating officer. “With all of the changes the pandemic brought to all of us, we continue to stay driven toward improvement of quality and safety at our medical center.”

National Patient Safety Awareness Week is an annual recognition event spearheaded by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement intended to encourage everyone to learn more about healthcare safety. During the week, the IHI seeks to advance important discussions locally and globally and inspire action to improve the safety of the healthcare system – for both the patients and the workforce.

“Everyone is responsible for patient safety – healthcare staff, patients and families,” said Chevelle Johnson, CRMC associate chief nursing officer. “We encourage patients and families to speak up and ask questions about their care.”

Staff are also encouraged to report any safety concerns and “good catches” to prevent patient harm.

CRMC’s “Good Catch” reporting system is a way for the team to review potential risks to patients. It is a recognition of an event that could have been harmful to a patient but was prevented and is often referred to as a “near miss” or “close call.”

“Good Catch” examples include mismarked medication or technology malfunction that could have interfered with patient care.

“’Exceptional care to every patient every day’ is our mission statement,” Johnson said. “Patient safety is top priority from front line staff to the board. Patients come to the hospital to get better, not sicker.”

The subject of patient safety is discussed daily during departmental safety huddles.

“Every hospital department and employee are responsible for patient safety,” Johnson said. “It is truly a team effort.”

“Patient safety is essential when it comes to caring for our patients,” said Paul Korth, CRMC CEO. “I am proud of all of our healthcare staff who are on the front lines every day working hard to prevent patient harm while giving each patient quality and timely treatment.”

“The safety of our patients is our driving force in everything that we do,” Key said. “Each Physician, provider and employee want CRMC to be the safest environment to receive medical care – it truly is the way we care.”