ANA declares 2016 Culture of Safety Year

It has been 15 years since the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued the call for a safer health care system in its landmark reports To Err Is Human and Crossing the Quality Chasm.

To Err Is Human found that between 44,000 and 98,000 hospitalized patients die each year from preventable medical errors. Many nurses were shaken by the report, as “do no harm” is at the core of nursing.

The follow-up report, Crossing the Quality Chasm, had a broader focus and suggested a roadmap for reforming the nation’s health care system. Taken together, these two reports have shaped the modern patient safety conversation.

ANA endorsed the National Patient Safety Foundation report which reiterates the importance of establishing and sustaining a culture of safety. The report emphasizes “the wellbeing and safety of the healthcare workforce.” ANA supports the concept that a healthy nurse leads to a healthy community.

Recent studies suggest U.S. patients experience a far greater number of adverse events each year than even suggested by the IOM 15 years ago. A 2013 study published in the Journal of Patient Safety revealed that preventable adverse events accounted for 210,000 to 440,000 deaths of hospital patients every year. There is still work to be done and nurses will play a key role.

Nurses have been instrumental in improving the quality and safety of health care particularly when it comes to hospital-acquired conditions. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) these conditions declined 17 percent between 2010 and 2014. There were 2.1 million fewer hospital-acquired conditions, 87,000 saved lives, and $20 billion in savings.

ANA is focusing on a different topic each month, offering webinars and other resources for nurses, and this year’s Nursing Week, coming May 6-12, is built around the theme “Culture of safety. It starts with YOU” Learn more about nurses week at Nurses Week page: http://www.nursingworld.org/nnw