AARP and Leapfrog Group Identify Some of the Best Safety Innovations in Hospitals

INQRI researchers have developed and tested numerous interventions to improve patient safety and several of those interventions are being implemented today in various health care settings. Patient safety is an ongoing concern and one that receives much-deserved attention. This month's AARP Magazine identifies some of the most innovative programs being implemented in hospitals to prevent errors and improve patient safety. The Leapfrog Group scored the hospitals and created an online tool individuals can use to locate the best scoring  hospitals in their communities.

These are just a few of the practices identified by AARP and Leapfrog:

•  a program through which each day, a nurse assess patients for their fall risks and gives high-risk patient yellow slippers which identify them as being at a high risk for falling;
• bar codes on medications and patients' wristbands to ensure patients receive the right medications;
• a "time out towel" placed on the instrument stand in the operating room to remind staff to follow standardized procedures; and
• a "red zone" prohibiting staff from interrupting nurses who are dispensing medication.

Two Upcoming Webinars Addressing Recommendations Made in the IOM's Future of Nursing Report

We are pleased to announce two upcoming webinars that are part of our ongoing series addressing recommendations made in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.

The INQRI program is pleased co-host the fourth webinar in our series focused on this groundbreaking report with the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action. The campaign is coordinated through the Center to Champion Nursing in America, an initiative of AARP, the AARP Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and includes 48 state Action Coalitions and a wide range of health care providers, consumer advocates, policy-makers and the business, academic and philanthropic communities. The webinar, "Removing Barriers to APRN Practice and Care: The Consumer Perspective" will feature Barbara Safriet, JD, LLM, Associate Dean and Lecturer, at Yale Law School.

The webinar will take place on May 8, 2012 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm ET

Click here to let us know you will attend

To join the webinar you must access both the Audio and Visual components
Audio: 1-866-395-0929
Visual: http://bit.ly/HDMJUc

Click here to let us know you will attend

Our second webinar, "Creating Partnerships to Build a Culture for Professional Growth", will feature Teresa Wehrwein PhD, RN, Associate Dean for Academic and Clinical Affairs Michigan State University College of Nursing, and Kathleen Kessler, MSN, RN – Director of Professional Partnerships Michigan State University College of Nursing.

This webinar will take place on May 17, 1:00pm EST.

Click here to register for the webinar.