How Helen Newberry Joy Hospital Measures and Assures Safety
The HNJH Patient Safety Program focuses on the continuous enhancement of safety for all patients, visitors and employees.

We are committed to a culture of safety in which employees are encouraged to come forward when they or others make mistakes, allowing us the opportunity to improve the care we deliver and prevent potential errors.

Senior Leader Safety Rounding
Senior Leader Rounding offers insight into the care process and the potential of harm to the next patient. Team members of Senior Leadership walk through a designated unit on a monthly basis.

The goals of these rounds are to:

• Demonstrate to frontline staff senior leadership’s commitment to patient safety and develop an ongoing relationship with a clinical unit
• Emphasize dual ownership for unit level safety: staff and senior leadership
• Facilitate a non-punitive culture of safety
• Encourage reporting of safety opportunities
• Speak directly to frontline staff regarding how we can improve our systems and processes.

Falls Reduction Program
Reducing the risk of patient harm resulting from falls is one of HNJH’s main objectives. HNJH has a fall-reduction program that provides guidelines for everyone involved in the care of patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings including the Emergency Department. The fall-reduction program includes patient evaluation, interventions, staff education and training, patient education and outcomes assessment.

Flu Vaccine Program
Each year, HNJH offers all employees an influenza immunization in an effort to protect its employees, patients and visitors against the disease.

Hand Hygiene
Clean hands are the best protection against infection. With an increase in drug-resistant bacteria present in all hospital settings, it has become increasingly important for healthcare employees to follow hand hygiene guidelines.

When you clean your hands, you reduce the likelihood of spreading bacteria from one patient to another. In fact, Helen Newberry Joy Hospital is part of a growing number of hospitals that monitor hand hygiene among employees. This effort is part of a comprehensive program to keep patients safe. Look for alcohol-based hand sanitizers around our facilities to protect the health of patients, visitors and employees.

Latex-safe Environment
HNJH is latex-safe, so every reasonable effort is made to remove highly allergenic latex sources. This reduced direct exposure to patients and employees.

With less exposure to latex, our patients and employees have a reduced risk of developing an allergy.

Patient Portal
Have you ever wished you could check your medical records at home or on the road? Now you can. HNJH patients now have the ability to access a portion of their own medical record on the Internet, any time of day or night through a Web-based service called MyCareCorner.

Fast, easy and totally secure, MyCareCorner is a breakthrough in physician-patient communication, and yet another example of how information technology is improving health care. All that is needed is internet access and an email account.  If you would like access to your portal, please click here for instructions on how to access.

Speak-up! For Safety
Launched in March 2016, the MHA Keystone Center Speak-up! Award is designed to acknowledge the efforts of individuals or teams within MHA Keystone Center Patient Safety Organization hospitals who speak-up to prevent potential harm to patients or other staff members. The award not only represents a volitional voicing of concerns by one or more people, but is a tool through which one may eliminate preventable harm caused by miscommunication and non-communication.  The MHA Keystone Center Speak-up Award is an adaption of the Minnesota Hospital Association’s Good Catch for Patient Safety Award.  Since the program was put into place, staff have nominated coworkers 22 times.  They are recognized by the CEO and presented a certificate.  In 3^rd Quarter 2018, surgical team members won the MHA Speak-up Award.  The MHA came onsite and presented them with a trophy. 

• Download our Patient’s Rights and Responsibilities brochure

Safe Environment
HNJH adheres to the National Fire Protection Agency Life Safety Code, a set of national safety requirements that hospitals must comply with. These standards, which cover construction, protection and operational features designed to provide safety from fire, smoke, and panic, are enforced by HNJH’s Facility Department.

Safety Event Reporting System
HNJH’s online Safety Event Reporting System allows any employee to report a near miss, process problem, or a patient event. An event is anything that occurs in the hospital or outpatient setting that caused or has the potential to cause a medical error or injury.

Employees are encouraged to report events even if they did not cause harm to the patient. Reporting of "near misses" provides an opportunity for the Quality & Patient Safety Department to identify flaws in the system and to implement changes before they impact the patient. As always, ensuring our patients’ safety is an essential part of our commitment to putting patients first, and you can make the difference.