Spring Summer 2018

www.ohca.com Spring/Summer 2018 The Oregon Caregiver 13 Part of the OPSC team discusses upcoming programs and important issues for care professionals. The confidentiality afforded by EDR helps create a safe space to talk openly with patients about what happened, potentially diminishing a patient’s need to seek legal counsel while providing the opportunity for learning to improve patient safety. OPSC also has resources for providers on how to have these difficult conversations with patients and families. Learning opportunities to help organizations meet healthcare professionals’ needs following adverse events. Recently, one area that has been receiving greater national attention is the need to create a supportive environment for healthcare workers, particularly following adverse events. While many healthcare organizations have an Employee Assistance Program or make referrals to mental health professionals when deemed necessary, few are equipped to proactively offer peer support to an affected healthcare professional immediately following a serious event. Providing peer support in these situations has been shown to relieve staff stress and anxiety, increase work satisfaction and retention rates, improve employee morale, and help care professionals communicate more effectively with patients and families. This year, OPSC is helping a group of healthcare organizations across Oregon build capacity to support healthcare providers following adverse events. OPSC staff can also help connect your organization to current best-practice resources. QUALITY 2017 Patient Safety Reporting Program (PSRP) Leading Participant Each year, OPSC recognizes leading healthcare organizations that stand out among their peers for consistently analyzing adverse events, and for their contributions to PSRP that make shared learning possible. In 2017, Providence Center for Medically Fragile Children (PCMFC) was named the nursing facility PSRP Leading Participant. In addition to exceeding their recognition target goals in 2017, the team at PCMFC, led by Registered Nurse Manager Sharon Walker, BSN, RN, CPN, has shown their continued dedication to learning from adverse events, recognizing that every event is an opportunity to learn and improve. In addition, PCMFC has been deliberate about engaging patients and families in the care process to ensure that each patient’s unique needs can be safely met. Congratulations, Providence Center for Medically Fragile Children! Get in Touch! In our complex healthcare system, a wide range of safety issues will inevitably arise. Having robust systems in place for re- sponding to and addressing these issues is essential to making care safer. Support from OPSC staff is just a call or an email away. Mary Ludlum, RN, BIS PSRP Patient Safety Consultant mary.ludlum@oregonpatientsafety.org 503-224-9227 Suzanne Wood, BSHA PSRP Patient Safety Consultant suzanne.wood@oregonpatientsafety.org 503-477-8280 Beth Kaye, JD Director of Early Discussion and Resolution beth.kaye@oregonpatientsafety.org 503-227-2632 Rebecca Rottman, MPA Program Consultant,  Quality Improvement Initiatives rebecca.rottman@oregonpatientsafety.org 503-719-4647 Kate Medred, MLS Project Consultant,  Quality Improvement Initiatives Kate.medred@oregonpatientsafety.org 503-928-6243 Learn more at oregonpatientsafety.org . Quality improvement and infection control education and consultation. Through a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grant to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), OPSC provides free infection prevention and control assessments and consultation to nursing facilities. These assessments are confidential and proven to help facilities prepare for regulatory assessments, and close gaps in their infection prevention programs. In addition, OPSC has convened a collaborative of nursing facilities across the state that meet virtually to learn and support one another as they all work to address infection control issues in their own organizations. 