USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital celebrates Solutions for Patient Safety network milestone of 30,000 children spared from serious harm
As part of the Solutions for Patient Safety network, hospitals share information and data regularly to learn best practices that are then spread across the network and shared publicly.
By Carol McPhail
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USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital is celebrating its contributions to Children’s Hospitals’ Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS), a network of over 150 pediatric hospitals that collaborates to reduce pediatric harm events.
SPS recently announced its network hospitals have collectively spared more than 30,000 children from serious harm since its inception in 2009. This safety milestone has also resulted in an estimated savings of more than $6.68 million in healthcare costs, SPS stated.
“We are proud to be part of this incredible network” said Deborah Browning, MSN, RN, CENP, chief executive officer of Children’s & Women’s Hospital. “This milestone and our ongoing collaboration and commitment within this network means that our patients and families can expect the highest standards of safety in our care. We look forward to continuing this work as part of our ongoing commitment to our patients and families to create zero harm.”
As part of the Solutions for Patient Safety network, hospitals do not compete on safety and instead share information and data regularly to learn best practices that are then spread across the network and shared publicly, along with results, on the network’s website.
Since joining the network in January 2024, Children’s & Women’s Hospital has launched several initiatives aimed at improving patient safety and care. For example, staff now provide families with more comprehensive instruction based on best practices, followed by a “teach-back” process to ensure understanding and help prevent unintentional falls. Families are also encouraged to ask for assistance, no matter what the request is, to support a safe care environment.
In addition, the hospital is working to standardize processes and procedures across departments to further enhance patient care. Competency checklists for new staff are also being reviewed and expanded to ensure consistent, high-quality onboarding and training.
“When SPS began nearly 16 years ago, we had an aspirational concept to see what we could do better and faster together to decrease healthcare-acquired conditions in children’s hospitals. And now, we have a shared goal that is larger than anything any of us could have imagined: to transform pediatric patient and employee safety with the urgent mission to eliminate serious harm across all children’s hospitals – and it is happening,” said Nick Lashutka, president of SPS. “Importantly, the collaborative and intentional pursuit of the vision of zero harm has led us to 30,000 children spared, and the impact of the network only continues to grow.”
