FHMC Patient Safety Awareness Week
Last week, Jamaica and Flushing Hospital Medical Center celebrated Patient Safety Awareness Week.
The observance is an initiative promoted by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the National Patient Safety Foundation to increase awareness of the importance of patient safety among healthcare professionals and the public.
This year’s campaign focused on fostering a safety culture and encouraging patient engagement. Both hospitals hosted a series of events that engaged the community as well as staff.
At Flushing Hospital, various departments collaborated in providing information used for an educational display that demonstrated the importance of infection control, as well as safety measures for fall prevention. Brochures and other reading materials were also made available in the hospital’s main lobby.
Jamaica Hospital celebrated all week long by engaging the community and employees in a number of activities that included hand sanitizer giveaways; 675 hand gels were distributed during the “Got Soap” hand hygiene campaign. Departments participating in Patient Safety Awareness Week performed Environment of Care (EOC) rounds on 25 patient care units to ensure health and safety requirements were up to par. Hospital guests and employees were also invited to take part in patient-safety related raffles as well as games such as Wheel of Fortune.
One of the highlights of Patient Safety Awareness Week at Jamaica Hospital was the debut of the “Scrubbing in Finesse” music video. The video, a collaborative effort of several departments, was created to show the community- in a fun and educational way- the many safety measures practiced by staff to ensure patient safety. Scrubbing in Finesse was well received and enjoyed by many.
Patient Safety Awareness Week was a success at Jamaica and Flushing Hospital. We look forward to next year’s creative and educational contributions.