VCU Health System Recognized for Safety First Every Day Program

By Malorie Burkett

The Virginia Commonwealth University Health System received the Excellence in Patient Safety Award during the 6th Annual Virginians Improving Patient Care & Safety conference.

The award recognizes the abstracts presented during the conference that best exemplify the effective application of patient safety principles in a clinical care environment.

“As one of the preeminent medical centers in the nation, we have set the bar to be the safest hospital in America,” said Sheldon Retchin, M.D., CEO of the VCU Health System and VCU vice president for Health Sciences.  "This award validates that we're on the right track to achieve that goal."

In a presentation, Jill Mercier, VCU Health System patient safety officer, described the "horizontal" approach of Safety First Every Day, including efforts to solidify safety as a core value and the Behavior Expectations for Error Prevention (BEEP) concepts and training program that has reached more than 8,700 people to date.

“This award is special because it is a validation of the collective efforts we put into Safety First Every Day,” said Dale Harvey, director of performance improvement, VCU Health System. “Safety First Every Day is bringing the science of safety and error prevention to healthcare.”

This is the fourth time in six years that the VCU Health System has received this recognition. Past years include 2005, 2007 and 2008.

Virginians Improving Patient Care and Safety is a statewide not-for-profit coalition of 34 healthcare partners, including VCUHS that was created in 2000 with the mission to advance patient safety in Virginia. For more information, visit http://www.vipcs.org/.