Patient Safety a Top Priority

I was very sick during Christmas 2012 and had to stay at South County Hospital for five days. I wanted to share how impressed I was with the safety of the patients on the floor. Every single nurse and staff member—from the lab tech to the dietary staff—that walked in to my room asked my name and date of birth and looked at my bracelet—three ways to identify they had the right patient!  This was comforting to me.

The other impressive patient-related safety protocol in place at the hospital was the bed alarm system. All patients are required to have the bed alarm on at night, regardless of age, diagnosis or medications. During the night, I could hear the alarm going off next to my room. There was an elderly gentleman in that room who was confused and kept attempting to get out of bed on his own. I could hear the staff running down the hall each and every time the alarm went off. There was no walking down the hall—they ran! And they ran every time. I thought to myself, “now that is dedication. That’s training. That’s staff that care whether their patient is safe.”

Having been a patient at South County Hospital (I am a nursing manager at South County Home Health), it was inspiring to know I am part of a healthcare system that cares so much about the safety of their patients.