|
Electrolab Training
Systems & Primedia Healthcare prescribes
first-of-its-kind safety training program to
alleviate medical errors
SafeStart Healthcare
addresses human behaviors that contribute to
medical injuries and
errors
April 1, 2003 – PRIMEDIA
Workplace Learning in conjunction with ELECTROLAB
Training Systems today announced the launch of
SafeStart Healthcare, a first-of-its-kind safety
training program designed to address human behaviors
that lead to most medical errors and patient
injuries. The program, available today, has been
tested and validated by both large and small
healthcare organizations and has demonstrated a
significant ability to improve the human side of
safety.
With heightened national
concern by the public of medical errors and patient
injuries, PRIMEDIA Healthcare identified a void in
standard healthcare training programs. Generally,
current healthcare safety programs emphasize
processes and procedures but overlook the reality
that clinical personnel are human, and thus prone to
make mistakes. SafeStart Healthcare, an
easy-to-implement program originally utilized with
widespread success in the industrial sector across
North America, has been redesigned and tested
specifically by and for healthcare professionals to
complement other training initiatives by teaching
caregivers methods to reduce human errors.
“One of the main reasons
medical errors are still occurring in high numbers
and patients are still being injured, is because the
focus on personal behavior has been neglected,” said
Laura Barnett, of PRIMEDIA Healthcare. “SafeStart
Healthcare presents a new way to become aware of and
to control our actions and habits that can result in
medical errors and patient injuries. It’s simply a
new way of thinking.”
Unintentional and
habitual at-risk behaviors by medical professionals
are a contributing factor in many healthcare
incidents. SafeStart Healthcare teaches caregivers
to be more aware of these behaviors in order to
avoid critical errors.
SafeStart Healthcare,
which is scalable to all facility/personnel sizes,
consists of five instructor-led modules taught in
weekly installments. The videotapes and employee
workbooks use real-life situations to effectively
engage participants. Healthcare employees learn from
their analysis of near misses, discussion of the
material presented and their own personal
experiences. By making people more aware of how
certain behaviors impact their safety and the safety
of their patients, accidents and injuries are
significantly reduced or avoided.
“The SafeStart
Healthcare beta test was so effective in our
facility that we quickly purchased the program to
implement on a wider scale. It's a simple but
effective program that will work for anyone in any
environment,” said Deanna Parsons, at Cabell
Huntington Hospital . “One nurse reported that
shortly after the training she avoided making a
potentially critical error thanks to the awareness
lessons learned via SafeStart Healthcare.”
SafeStart Healthcare
significantly complements other process-, procedure-
and technology-specific initiatives by providing an
additional perspective that gives employees the
tools they need to minimize critical errors that
increase the risk of injury when hazards haven’t
been or can’t be eliminated.
Beta test sites verified
that SafeStart Healthcare helps create a culture of
safety within a hospital by improving communication
among employees and creating an open, non-punitive
environment for clinical personnel to focus on
improving care. SafeStart Healthcare increases
“close call/near miss reporting,” which fosters
continued learning even after the program is
completed.
Beta testers rated
SafeStart Healthcare high in all areas, particularly
in the reduction of medical errors and patient
injuries; teaching participants to recognize their
state of mind and likelihood of making errors;
establishing a “culture of safety” within a
hospital; integration into existing patient safety
processes; and decreasing competition among
departments while increasing staff cooperation.
SafeStart Healthcare is
also designed to reduce compensatory claims and days
lost to employee injury, because the program lessons
extend beyond patient safety issues to help
employees better avoid accidents and injuries that
affect their own safety at work, at home and while
driving. Additionally, SafeStart Healthcare allows
healthcare organizations to demonstrate caring for
their employed/affiliated professionals. By
sponsoring a safety awareness program that focuses
on employees’ ability to avoid human errors,
organizations impart support for their employees who
have dedicated their careers to providing quality
healthcare services. Thus, SafeStart Healthcare
enhances employee morale and retention, a major
challenge in the healthcare industry.
About
Electrolab Training Systems
Electrolab Training
Systems is a family-owned business that has provided
training to Healthcare facilities, Industry and
Educational Institutions for over 25 years. Larry
Wilson, Vice-President of Electrolab’s Health and
Safety Division, is the author of SafeStart Advanced
Awareness Training for Employees. SafeStart Training
has been implemented across Canada and the United
States in a variety of workplace environments,
including utilities, pulp & paper, food & beverage,
general manufacturing and healthcare. More
information about the company can be found at
www.electrolab.ca.
About
PRIMEDIA Healthcare
PRIMEDIA Healthcare has
been providing training via online, CD-ROM,
videotape or satellite from the company’s renowned
networks, Health & Sciences Television Network (HSTN),
Joint Commission Satellite Network, Long Term Care
Network (LTCN), and Interactive Medical Networks (IMN).
It is a division of PRIMEDIA Workplace Learning,
which has developed integrated learning solutions
for more than eight million professionals in the
industrial, healthcare, banking, automotive, fire
and emergency, government, law enforcement and the
private security markets since 1985. More
information about the company can be found at
www.pwpl.com.
|
