Safe Tables: Cultivating Legally Protected, Transparent Discussions

Safe tables are designed to empower healthcare providers to engage in robust, meaningful patient safety and quality improvement activities. These events provide a legally protected environment to allow healthcare professionals to discuss difficult topics.

The MHA Keystone Center Patient Safety Organization (PSO) is hosting a safe table to investigate and discuss healthcare adversities facing the pediatric population, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Oct. 28. This virtual event is offered to MHA Keystone Center PSO members only. Registration is available online.

Members with questions may contact the MHA Keystone Center PSO.

Safe Table to Address Pediatric Care During COVID-19

PSO

The MHA Keystone Center Patient Safety Organization (PSO) is hosting a safe table to investigate and discuss healthcare adversities facing the pediatric population, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The safe table will be held virtually from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Oct. 28.

Safe tables allow hospitals to come together, share ideas with peers, engage in safe discussions and obtain advice to make improvements to reduce or eliminate harm. This event is offered to MHA Keystone Center PSO members only. Registration is available online.

Members with questions may contact the MHA Keystone Center PSO.

Sept. 8 Safe Table to Address Mental Health and Wellbeing

The MHA Keystone Center Patient Safety Organization (PSO) is hosting a safe table focusing on mental health and wellbeing Sept. 8 from 1 to 3 p.m.

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged healthcare organizations across the care continuum. Employees continue to provide care for patients despite exhaustion, personal risk of infection, fear of transmission to family members, illness or death of friends and colleagues and the loss of many patients. Many also faced unavoidable stressors, such as long shifts, employee turnover and personal isolation.

This safe table will serve as a safe and open space for healthcare employees to discuss the hardships frontline staff are facing during the pandemic. In addition, participants will hear from Mark Eastburg, PhD, president and CEO of Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, who will share strategies to positively impact mental health and wellbeing.

Registration is available for PSO members. Questions may be directed to the MHA Keystone Center PSO.

Celebrating Five Years of Speak-up! Award

Speak Up Award logo

Speaking up when having a concern in healthcare is foundational to ensuring safe, high-quality care for patients and a safe work environment for staff.

MHA Keystone Center Speak-up! AwardThe MHA Keystone Center Speak-Up! Award was launched in March 2016 for members of the MHA Keystone Center Patient Safety Organization (PSO) to celebrate healthcare staff who speak up for patient or staff safety. The award program has grown exponentially throughout the last five years, averaging more than one nomination every two days, with over half of PSO members actively participating — 947 nominations have been received from 61 member organizations.

As part of the award program’s evolution, the MHA Keystone Center created a toolkit to help PSO-member organizations design and implement their own speak-up recognition process to advance their safety culture. According to a cost-savings analysis, each time staff speak up and prevent harm saves more than $13,000 for patients, families and healthcare organizations. This work was published in the Journal of Healthcare Risk Management and finished in the top 10% most downloaded articles of the Wiley publishing company in 2019.

PSO members may submit a Speak-up! Award nomination online. Members with questions may contact the MHA Keystone Center PSO.

Drive Culture Improvement with SCORE Survey, Learn More During Webinar

The MHA Keystone Center Patient Safety Organization (PSO) is hosting a webinar from 2 to 3 p.m. May 27 to provide an overview of Safe & Reliable Healthcare’s Safety, Communication, Operational Reliability & Engagement (SCORE) Survey. The SCORE Survey yields valuable insight to unite culture and employee engagement, and the results can be used to drive positive change.

Participants will hear about national data trends and learn more about how they can maximize this tool to drive culture improvement. The SCORE Survey is offered to MHA Keystone Center PSO members biennially.

MHA Keystone Center PSO members may register at no cost. Those with questions may contact the MHA Keystone Center PSO.

Speaker Sought to Explore Mental Health and Wellbeing During COVID-19

The MHA Keystone Center Patient Safety Organization (PSO) is seeking a speaker for an upcoming safe table focusing on mental health and wellbeing of employees within hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The speaker will be asked to provide approximately 30 minutes of content and participate in the group discussion afterward. Although a date has not yet been confirmed, the event will take place in mid-July.

This invitation is for a presentation that reviews staff mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic across different disciplines within hospitals. Areas to be discussed should include the hardships front-line staff are facing during the pandemic, healthcare leaders’ strategies to positively impact mental health and wellbeing, lessons learned since the pandemic began, and ways in which hospitals can improve care for their staff. The selected speaker will be encouraged to include the approaches their organization is taking to improve coping mechanisms amid the hardships facing hospital staff.

Those who wish to be considered as a speaker for this event should contact the MHA Keystone Center PSO by May 28.