In this issue
Fairview
Northland Medical Center staff member receives Minnesota Hospital Association’s
Good Catch for Patient Safety award
A Fairview Northland Medical Center staff member has received the award that
recognizes hospital professionals who demonstrate their commitment to keeping
patients safe by “speaking up” to prevent a potential patient safety issue.
Rita Spiczka accepted the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) Good Catch for
Patient Safety award at a presentation on Nov. 12. Spiczka took action when she
recognized symptoms of heart failure in a patient who came in for a cardiac
stress test. Instead of starting the test, Spiczka consulted with the patient’s
primary care provider and ultimately ensured that the patient was transported
to the Emergency Room, where he was admitted to the hospital Intensive Care
Unit with heart complications.
“It is because of actions taken every day by dedicated professionals like Rita
that Minnesota hospitals continue to be front-runners in patient safety,” said
MHA Vice President of Quality and Patient Safety Tania Daniels. “Rita’s efforts
remind us what a difference one person can make to keep patients safe.”
The Good Catch for Patient Safety program recognizes hospital professionals for
actions that protect patients. The program might honor, for example, a nurse
who realizes that a medication order looks incorrect and therefore verifies the
order with the physician before administering the medication to the patient.
All Good Catch for Patient Safety award winners are entered into the running to
receive the quarterly Good Catch for Patient Safety award. Quarterly winners
are eligible to be honored with the annual Good Catch for Patient Safety award
presented at the MHA Annual Awards banquet in May.
Individuals seeking to nominate an employee or team for the award can visit the
MHA website to complete a nomination form.
For more information, visit the MHA website or contact Tania Daniels, 651-603-3517, or Rahul Koranne, M.D., senior vice
president for clinical affairs and chief medical officer, 651-659-1445. return to top
New
workplace violence prevention resources now available
Additional resources for implementing the new workplace violence
prevention law are available on the MHA website as well as the MDH website. Hospitals are currently working
on violence prevention plans in accordance with the new workplace violence
prevention law.
New resources that are now available include a list of frequently asked
questions regarding the new law and a template of a violence action plan. These
documents are available on the MHA website, along with a tool kit that
includes the gap analysis tool and sample plans, policies and other resources
from MHA members to help implement or sustain a violence prevention program.
For more information on the gap analysis and tools, contact Nora Vernon,
quality/safety clinical specialist, MHA, 651-603-3507. return to top
Annual
community benefit survey due Nov. 20
MHA has initiated the annual community benefit data collection
for fiscal year 2014. The data is presented in MHA’s Community Benefit Report.
Due to requests from members, we have extended the deadline for submitting your
hospital’s community benefit information to Friday, Nov. 20. Your participation is
critical to ensure the report accurately reflects regional and statewide trends
and that all benefits hospitals have contributed to their community are
acknowledged.
Chief executive officers, chief financial officers and communications point
people should have received emails with instructions and a link to the survey
system used to collect the data. If your hospital did not receive emails in
October regarding the survey, please contact Bonnie Terveer, data operations assistant, MHA, 651-641-1121.
Please note that your hospital’s Form 990 should also be sent to Bonnie Terveer. return to top
Minnesota
Crisis Link website undergoing revision
MHA recently reported on the launching of a Crisis Link website
to connect people in crisis, including mental health and substance use crises,
to services. Since that article, the crisis resources on the website have been
removed for revision. MHA will share the link again once the site has
relaunched.
The following resources are still available:
Hospitals and clinics are encouraged to make the
local crisis line numbers and Fast-Tracker information available to patients
and their families. The information can be posted, available as a handout in
the waiting room or offered in other ways. return to top