Atlanta, GA,
17
January
2019
|
16:00 PM
America/New_York

Shepherd Center Wins Patient Safety Award for Medication Safety

The Partnership for Health and Accountability presented the prestigious, first place award to recognize Shepherd Center’s achievement.

ATLANTA – The Partnership for Health and Accountability (PHA) has awarded its prestigious Quality and Patient Safety Award to Shepherd Center for its project that improved reliability in medication administration. PHA is an affiliate of the Georgia Hospital Association.

The project, titled, “Building Processes to Promote High Reliability in Patient Identification and Medication Administration,” won first place in the Hospitals with 100-299 Beds category. These annual awards recognize Georgia health care organizations for achievement in reducing the risk of medical errors and improving patient safety and medical outcomes.

Shepherd Center President and CEO Sarah Morrison, PT, MBA, MHA, and Susan Bowen, RN, CCRN, CPHQ, CLNC, director of Quality, Outcomes and Patient Safety, accepted the award, which was presented at the 2019 GHA Patient Safety & Quality Summit on January 9. Morrison also gave a presentation at the meeting.

“With great pride and humility, Shepherd Center accepted this award in recognition for our outstanding effort in the pursuit of genuine patient safety,” Bowen said. “There is nothing more important than delivering safe, reliable patient care.”

Georgia Hospital Association President and CEO Earl Rogers echoed Bowen’s comments.

“Elimination of medication errors is essential to medication safety and is a priority of hospitals statewide,” Rogers said. “We applaud Shepherd Center for its successes and for making critical progress in patient safety while ensuring the best and safest care possible for patients.”

The Shepherd Center project team under Bowen’s supervision involved these individuals:

  • Yong Kang, Pharm D, clinical pharmacy coordinator and chair of Shepherd’s Medication Work Group. She led the project team.
  • Michelle Nemeth, PT, senior clinical improvement advisor in the Quality, Outcomes and Patient Safety Department. She was the project facilitator.
  • Certified nurse educators and patient safety officer members, who served as coaches on the project
  • All Nurse Managers
  • Respiratory Therapy Manager
  • Nurse Educators
  • Information Systems Department
  • All Frontline Staff

About PHA

The Partnership for Health and Accountability (PHA), an affiliate of GHA, was established in January 2000 to improve patient care and patient safety in hospitals and other health care facilities and create healthy communities.

About GHA

Founded in 1929, GHA serves more than 170 hospitals in Georgia and promotes the health and welfare of the public through the development of better hospital care for all Georgia’s citizens. The mission of GHA is to advance the health of individuals and communities by serving as the leading advocate for all Georgia hospitals and health care systems. GHA represents its members before the General Assembly and Congress, as well as state and federal regulatory agencies, and is an allied member of the American Hospital Association. For more information, call 770-249-4500 or visit gha.org.

About Shepherd Center

Shepherd Center provides world-class clinical care, research, and family support for people experiencing the most complex conditions, including spinal cord and brain injuries, multi-trauma, traumatic amputations, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and pain. An elite center recognized as both Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems, Shepherd Center is ranked by U.S. News as one of the nation’s top hospitals for rehabilitation. Shepherd Center treats thousands of patients annually with unmatched expertise and unwavering compassion to help them begin again.