South County Hospital endorses The Joint Commission's 2012 patient safety goals (reviewed every 2 years). The Joint Commission is the nation's predominant standard-setting accrediting body in health care. The goals:
- Identify patients correctly
- Improve staff communication
- Use medicines safely
- Prevent infection
- Check patient medicines
- Prevent patients from falling
- Help patients to be involved in their care
- Identify patient safety risks
- Watch patients closely for changes in their health and respond quickly if they need help
- Prevent errors in surgery
View the complete list of Hospital National Patient Safety Goals for 2012.
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Protecting 5 Million Lives Campaign is an initiative aimed at protecting patients from medical harm. South County Hospital has adopted the following 12 recommended interventions:
- Prevent Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infection by reliably implementing scientifically proven infection control practices throughout the hospital.
- Reduce harm from high-alert medications starting with a focus on anticoagulants, sedatives, narcotics and insulin.
- Reduce surgical complications by reliably implementing the changes in care recommended by the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP).
- Prevent pressure ulcers by reliably using science-based guidelines for prevention of this common, but serious complication.
- Deliver reliable, evidence-based care for congestive heart failure to reduce readmissions.
- Get the Board of Trustee's buy-in on new and leverage processes so that it can be more effective in accelerating the improvement of care.
- Deploy Rapid Response Teams at the first sign of patient decline -- and before a catastrophic cardiac or respiratory event.
- Deliver reliable, evidence-based care for acute myocardial infarction to prevent heart attack deaths.
- Prevent adverse drug events by reconciling patient medications at every transition point in care.
- Prevent central line infections by implementing a series of interdependent, scientifically grounded steps.
- Prevent surgical site infections by following a series of steps, including reliable, timely administration of correct perioperative antibiotics.
- Prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia by implementing a series of interdependent, scientifically grounded steps.