St. Joseph's Health Wins National Patient Safety Award

St. Joseph's Health aligned executive leaders and frontline staff to proactively complete the ECRI Total Systems Safety Assessment to capture a candid, comprehensive snapshot of the institution's safety status, identify areas for improvement, fuel targeted action plans, and measure progress over time.

The annual Safety Excellence Award from the ECRI and ISMP Patient Safety Organization (PSO) recognizes outstanding patient safety initiatives and evidence-based strategies that improve safety-related outcomes.

"We are proud of the team at St. Joseph's Health for embracing many of the principles that are foundational for a holistic approach to patient safety, like the Total Systems Safety framework and just culture for the workforce," said ECRI Chief Medical Officer Dheerendra Kommala, MD. "Their commitment to involving leadership at all levels has been instrumental in driving impactful change that's sustainable. This proactive, patient-centered approach sets a new standard that is grounded in transparency and successfully reduces preventable harm."

"Our entire team has taken a hands-on approach to patient safety," said Pam Upadya, MD, Patient Safety Officer and Interim Vice President, Physician Services, St. Joseph's Health. "Our partnership with ECRI and their encouragement for us to undergo the safety assessment has aligned our institution completely with the most recent CMS guidelines for patient safety. We're thrilled for the recognition of our vast efforts around safety excellence, which represents the heart of what we do."

St. Joseph's Health created core working groups to address each of the four principles in the Total Systems Safety Assessment: Culture Leadership, and Governance; Workplace Safety; Learning System; and Patient and Family Engagement. Multiple targeted action plans were developed for each category.

Inspired by the TSS assessment results, St. Joseph's began holding quarterly institutional patient safety symposiums which focus on successful patient safety initiatives that can be celebrated as a learning opportunity throughout the healthcare system.

The action plans included other changes, such as a new Just Culture policy and education, safety improvement education plans, expanding the Patient and Family Advocacy Council, unit-based huddles, safety coaches, and engaging in learning systems and networks.

The safety team also began introducing "safety stories" into all leadership and board meetings to highlight staff's positive actions related to safety and incident reporting. These efforts helped to shift the culture towards a focus on safety, transparency, communication across expert teams, and overall brought tangible safety actions to the forefront for senior leaders.

St. Joseph's Health also won ECRI's 2024 Healthcare Supply Chain Excellence Award for excellence in overall spend management and adopting best practice solutions into their supply chain processes. St. Joseph's Health will be recognized for their safety award during the ECRI and ISMP PSO Annual Meeting on November 13.

Two additional ECRI partners were recognized with honorable mentions in the Safety Excellence Award.

Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health won ECRI's Honorable Mention recognition for their work improving the Root Cause Analysis process for clinical safety events. This work led to faster response and investigation times, enhanced staff emotional wellbeing, and a reduction in safety events.

Hackensack Meridian Health won ECRI's Honorable Mention for improving safety event reporting and quality processes across ten acute care hospitals.

Learn more about ECRI's Safety Excellence Award.

About ECRI

ECRI and the ISMP PSO maintain the largest patient safety reporting and learning system—collecting and analyzing more than seven million patient safety events across 90 percent of the United States. 

ECRI is an independent, nonprofit organization improving the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of care across all healthcare settings. ECRI is the only organization worldwide to conduct independent medical device evaluations, with labs located in North America and Asia Pacific. ECRI is designated an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and a federally certified Patient Safety Organization by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

About ISMP

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) formally became an ECRI Affiliate in 2020. ISMP is the only 501c (3) nonprofit organization devoted entirely to preventing medication errors. ISMP runs the only national voluntary practitioner medication error reporting program, publishes newsletters with real-time error information, and offers a range of unique educational programs, tools, and guidelines.

About St. Joseph's Health

Founded in 1867 by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, St. Joseph's Health is a world-class hospital and healthcare network supported by more than 5,000 leading and renowned physicians, nurses and care teams. From its humble beginnings, St. Joseph's Health has become one of the premier health systems in the state. The organization continues to evolve as the leading health resource in the community, the largest employer in Passaic County, and one of the largest providers of charity care in New Jersey.

The St. Joseph's Health system is one of the leading clinical teaching and academic centers in the country, and has been recognized for its innovative programs and cutting-edge services. The health system operates a full continuum of care, including a regional tertiary care medical center (St. Joseph's University Medical Center, Paterson), an acute care medical center (St. Joseph's Wayne Medical Center, Wayne) a state-designated children's hospital (St. Joseph's Children's Hospital, Paterson), an outpatient facility (St. Joseph's Totowa Health Campus, Totowa), comprehensive home care (Visiting Health Services of New Jersey), and multiple ambulatory care centers located throughout Northern New Jersey. The system is further supported by St. Joseph's Health Medical Group, which operates more than 100 physician medical and specialty practices across northern New Jersey.

SOURCE ECRI