At. St. James Healthcare, we provide the safest patient care by adhering to the National Patient Safety Goals to reduce harmful occurrences.

We provide safe patient care by adhering to the following:
 

Encourage patients' active involvement in their own care as a patient safety strategy.

§         Communicate the means for patients and their families to report concerns about safety and encourage them to do so.

The organization identifies safety risks inherent in its patient population.

§         Identify patients being treated for emotional or behavior disorders at risk for suicide.

Improve the accuracy of patient identification.

§         Accurately identify patients prior to receiving any care, treatment or services by verifying the patient's name, medical record number and/or birth date.

Improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers.

§         "READ Back" all verbal or telephone orders in their entirety.

§         Do not use unapproved abbreviations anywhere in the documentation of orders, treatment plans, progress notes, test results or discharge plans.

§         Improve timeliness of reporting and timeliness of receipt by caregiver of critical test results and values.

§         Standardize the approach to "hand off" communications, including an opportunity to ask and respond to questions.

Improve the safety of using medications.

§         Limit the number of drug concentrations and prevent errors involving the interchange of look-alike/ sound-alike drugs.

§         Label all medications, medication containers or other solutions on and off the sterile field in perioperative and other procedural settings.

Reduce the risk of health care-associated infections.

§         Wash your hands with an antimicrobial soap and water or use hygienic hand rubs BEFORE and AFTER all patient contacts.

Accurately and completely reconcile medications across the continuum of care.

§         Obtain and document a complete list of the patient's current medications.

§         Communicate the list of patient's medications to the next provider of service when the patient is transferred to another setting, service, practitioner or level of care.

§         The complete list of medications is also provided to the patient on discharge from the facility.

Reduce the risk of patient harm resulting from falls.

§         Reduce patient falls through an effective fall reduction program.

Improve recognition and response to changes in a patient's condition.