The Southern California Patient Safety First (SCPSF) Collaborative convened on Sept.15 and drew record attendance with 217 professionals from close to 70 hospitals. Co-sponsored by HASC, the event has previously invited only program participants — but this time rolled out the welcome mat for all association members.  

The day-long session took place at the Pacific Palms Resort & Conference Center in the City of Industry. Speakers included J. Bryan Sexton, Ph.D., of Duke University’s Patient Safety Center. Among other insights, Sexton related an attention-grabbing fact — that nurses rank as high as military personnel on a stress index for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The afternoon included breakout sessions on sepsis care, perinatal safety, surgical safety and the prevention of health care-associated infections, or HAI. As always, networking and sharing experiences with industry peers were other event highlights. 

The collaborative has documented measurable improvements in error and infection rates at hospitals since its founding in 2010. Program hospitals have brought down their average rate of sepsis mortality by close to 10 percent from 2012 baselines, and infection rates for c. difficile dropped by 10 percent during the same period.

Future sessions of SCPSF will be open to all HASC member hospitals, free of charge. New focus areas for safeguarding patients and staff will be considered, event organizer and HASC Vice President of Quality & Patient Safety Julia Slininger said.

The next Patient Safety First Collaborative is being scheduled for a February date. The time and place will be announced in a future HASC Briefs and on the association’s website.

The program is a collaborative effort supported by HASC, its partner associations and Anthem Blue Cross. Visit www.hasc.org/southern-california-patient-safety-first-collaborative to learn more and to download the participation agreement.

Contact:
Julia Slininger
(213) 538-0766
jslininger@hasc.org