Press Release Date: September 16, 2003
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced a new partnership to improve patient safety nationwide.
HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and VA's National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS) are collaborating on the Patient Safety Improvement Corps, a training program for state health officials and their selected hospital partners. During the first annual program, 50 participants will complete coursework in three 1-week sessions at AHRQ's offices in Rockville, MD. Participants will analyze adverse medical events and close calls—sometimes known as "near misses"—to identify the root causes of these events and correct and prevent them.
"This partnership will give state and hospital officials the skills they need to make health care safer for all Americans," AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D., said. "We are pleased to provide this training program in response to a critical need expressed by the states in the nation's effort to improve patient safety."
The overarching goal of the Patient Safety Improvement Corps—which is funded by AHRQ at approximately $7 million over 4 years—is to prevent harm to patients.
"I am very pleased to partner with AHRQ in the design and implementation of this national training program based, in large part, on the work done by VA over the last several years," said VA Under Secretary for Health Robert H. Roswell, M.D. "It will offer state health care providers new tools and new ideas on how to best avoid causing inadvertent harm to patients."
AHRQ is partnering with NCPS to offer this training based on NCPS's extensive experience and success in operating large patient safety programs. Both HHS and VA look forward to building upon the experience of NCPS to foster an internationally renowned program. A list of states and their hospital partners in the first group to participate follows:
Alaska:
Alaska Longevity Program
Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation, Bethel, AK
Connecticut:
Connecticut Department of Health
Connecticut Hospital Association, Wallingford and Meriden, CT
Maryland:
Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Office of Health Care Quality
Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Rockville, MD
Massachusetts:
Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Northeast Health Systems, Ipswich, MA
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Medford, MA
Minnesota:
Minnesota Department of Health
Minnesota Hospital Association, St. Paul, MN
Missouri:
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services-Division of Health Standards and Licensure
University of Missouri Health Care, Columbia, MO
New York:
State of New York Department of Health, Bureau of Hospital and Primary Care Services
Health Research, Inc., Schenectady, NY
Rochester General Hospital, Rochester, NY
Hudson Valley Hospital Center, Cortlandt Manor, NY
North Carolina:
North Carolina Division of Facility Services
University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Apex, NC
North Carolina Division of Facility Services, Licensure & Certification Section, Durham, NC
North Carolina Teachers' and State Employees' Comprehensive Major Medical Plan, Raleigh, NC
Oregon:
Oregon Department of Human Services, Office of the State Public Health Officer
Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR
Providence Health System, Portland, OR
Oregon Health Care Association, Wilsonville, OR
Pennsylvania:
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Health, Jefferson Health System, Philadelphia, PA
Rhode Island:
Rhode Island Department of Attorney General
Kent County Memorial Hospital, Warwick, RI
Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI
Rhode Island Quality Partners, Providence, RI
Texas:
Texas Department of Health, Health Facility Licensing and Compliance Division
Rural and Community Health Institute, Bryan, TX
Utah:
Utah Department of Health
University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics, Department of Pharmacy Services, Salt Lake City, UT
St. Mark's Hospital, West Jordan, UT
Virginia:
Center for Quality Health Care Services and Consumer Protection, Virginia Department of Health
University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville, VA
Wisconsin:
MetaStar, Inc., representing State of Wisconsin, Department of Health and Family Services
Bureau of Quality Assurance, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, WI
For more information, please contact AHRQ Public Affairs: Karen Migdail, (301) 427-1855 (KMigdail@ahrq.gov); Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Public Affairs, (202) 273-6000.
Internet Citation:
HHS, VA Launch Patient Safety Training Program. Press Release, September 16, 2003. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2003/psicpr.htm