By: Sharon Dills, MSN
Patient Safety Awareness Week will be celebrated this year March 7 – 13, 2010. The goal is to provide education and awareness for improving patient safety. The theme this year is “Let’s Talk: Healthy Conversations for Safer Healthcare.” This is a wonderful opportunity to engage and partner with patients, staff, physicians and visitors to foster communication and encourage action around patient safety.
Here are a few ideas to make your organization’s Patient Safety Awareness Week celebration extra special through staff and patient involvement:
- Patient Safety Innovations Fair
- Reserve a room and let staff and their families run the booths
- Have game booths related to solving health and safety issues with practical and unique solutions
- “Risky Business” Rolling Information Carts
- Take the education & information to staff and patients on the units
- Let’s talk - ask questions and give answers
- Provide sample size hand gels and safety tip cards
- Prizes for everyone who plays!
- Rounding for Patient Safety – increase or initiate
- Team up senior leaders, medical staff and board members
- Script safety messages for patients, families and friends
- Ask about their healthcare concerns and ideas
- Provide campaign pins – XYZ Hospital - Patient Safety Advocate
- Partnering for Safety Poster Contests
- Address various healthcare/safety topics
- Display them in visible places
- Provide prizes for the best posters
- Fostering Safety Survey
- Annual Culture of Safety Survey
- Engaging staff and patients
- Focus on communication concerns and recommendations for improvement
- Free lunch in cafeteria for all who complete survey
- Speakers to Lead the Charge
- Keynote speakers are among us!
- Talk about safety
- Invite a family member or former patient who has had a patient safety related experience to share their story with staff and physicians
- Newsletters
- Get creative with patient safety articles, messages, slogans
- Share good news about patient safety success stories
- Puzzles/crosswords related to patient safety (award prizes)
Regardless of how you choose to celebrate, make it informative and FUN! Reward creativity and efforts that engage staff, patients and leaders. Encourage chatter that seeks solutions and spreads the message. Solicit ideas and incorporate them into celebration themes that are appropriate for your organization. Don’t forget the theme is “Let’s Talk” – so make sure there is lots of face-to-face communication about patient safety.
For more information about Patient Safety week, go to npsf.org. There is a wealth of information related to Patient Safety Awareness Week as well as ongoing education related to patient safety.
“Let’s Talk: Healthy Conversations for Safer Healthcare”