AHRQ – Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality:  www.ahrq.gov
Sponsored by the US Department for Health and Human Resources, this is the Nation’s lead federal agency for research on health care quality, costs, outcomes, and patient safety. Among many other subjects, this web site offers information regarding funding opportunities, nursing research, and health service research findings for policy makers.

Office of Communications and Knowledge Transfer
540 Gaither Road, Suite 2000
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: (301) 427-1364
Contact

ASHRM:  The American Society for Healthcare Risk Management: www.ashrm.org
ASHRM is a personal membership group of the American Hospital Association (AHA) with more than 5200 members representing healthcare, insurance, law and other related professions.  ASHRM promotes effective and innovative risk management strategies and professional leadership through education, advocacy, publications, networking and interactions with leading healthcare organizations and government agencies.  ASHRM initiative focus on developing and implementing safe and effective patient care practices, the preservation of financial resources and the maintenance of safe working environments.

Institute for Family Centered Care: www.familycenteredcare.org
This is a non-profit organization which promotes collaborative relationships among patients, families, and health care professionals. The Institute accomplishes its mission through training, teaching tools and information dissemination as well as research and public policy initiatives.

7900 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 405
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
Phone: 301-652-0281
E-mail: institute@iffcc.org

IHI – The Institute of Healthcare Improvement: www.ihi.org
This is a non-for-profit organization leading the improvement of healthcare throughout the world.  The website is designed for healthcare providers and organizations. The site contains workspace improvement tools, conferences and teaching programs, as well as a multitude of books, videos, and audio materials to be utilized as teaching aids to promote patient safety and healthcare.

20 University Road, 7th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
Phone: (617) 301-4800
Toll-Free: (866) 787-0831
Fax: (617) 301-4848

RWJF: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: www.rwjf.org
Ensuring that all Americans receive high-quality care is central to the mission of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). They have placed a strong focus on improve the health and the health care for all Americans, especially for those with chronic conditions. Their goal is to set national standards for quality, to track progress and to reward successes. They offer funding opportunities to achieve this end.

The Joint Commission: www.jointcommission.org
The Joint Commission provides evaluation and accreditation services for many organizations including general, psychiatric, children’s and rehabilitation hospitals, nursing homes, and other long term care facilities. Through accreditation it is hoped that facilities will continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public.

Phone: (630) 792-5000 or (877) 223-6866.

LEAPFROG: The Leapfrog Group:  www.leapfroggroup.org
The Leapfrog Group is a voluntary program aimed at promoting the fact that big leaps in health care safety, quality and customer value will be recognized and rewarded. Among other initiatives, Leapfrog works with its members to encourage access to health care information and rewards for hospitals that have a proven record of high quality care. For patients and families, there is consumer section on the website which allows one to see the safety ranking of the hospitals in your area.  For hospitals, the site has a public reporting initiative and a rewards program.

c/o Academy Health
Suite 701-L
1801 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
Telephone: 202-292-6713
Fax: 202-292-6813
Email: info@leapfroggroup.org

MITSS – Medically Induced Trauma Support Services: www.mitss.org
MITSS is a non-profit organization that works to support patients, families and medical professionals who have been affected by a medical error. The projects include support groups, advocacy opportunities, and a telephone hotline.

830 Boylston Street, Suite 206
Chestnut Hill, MA  02467
Telephone: 617-232-0900 or 1-888-366-4877
Fax: 617-232-7181

NPSF – The National Patient Safety Foundation:www.npsf.org
Their main goal is to improve the safety of patients through both education and raising public awareness. The web site contains a wealth of information relating to research programs, safety awareness conferences, and patient safety resource links. Additionally there are discussion forums, and a library with many resources.

1120 MASS MoCA Way
North Adams, MA, 01247
Phone:(413) 663-8900
Email: info@npsf.org

SORRY WORKS: The Sorry Works! Coalition: www.sorryworks.net
This coalition serves to organize information, news, ideas, and research on Sorry Works! and related full-disclosure efforts. There is information about states with “Sorry” laws as well as information about hospital and physician disclosure.

PO Box 531
Glen Carbon, IL 62034
Phone: 618-559-8168
Email: doug@sorryworks.net

WHO:  The World Health Organization: www.who.int
WHO has launched the World Alliance for Patient Safety. This Alliance raises awareness and political commitment to improve the safety of care and facilitates the development of patient safety policy and practice in all WHO Member States.

Tips to Help Manage a Safe Hospital Stay from the Care Journal

1. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
2. Make sure every health care team member who cares for you checks your identification bracelet.
3. Give your health care team the full information about your health history, any medications you take, your personal habits- like alcohol use or smoking, your diet, and any allergies that you might have.
4. Try to relax and trust that you are in good hands.
5. Keep track of information in a Care Journal or notebook.

The Speak Up™ Program from the Joint Commission
Speak Up™ encourages patients and their families to be active members of the healthcare team.

• Click here to read their practical advice.

As of August 2009, there was a new component of Speak Up™ that focuses on empowering parents to be health care advocates for their children.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
AHRQ has developed a list of 20 tips to help patients prevent medical errors.

• Click to read their tips.
• More safety resources for patients are publicly available on their website.

Pre-Operative Anesthesia Checklist
Are you or a family member planning for an upcoming surgery? Henry Rosenberg, MD, President of the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States and Dale Ann Micalizzi, Founder and Executive Director of Justin’s HOPE  developed a checklist to help you prepare for safe anesthesia administration. The checklist provides both questions to ask and information to share with your healthcare provider.

• Download the Pre-Op Anaesthesia Checklist

Useful Websites

• Empowered Patient Coalition
  www.empoweredpatientcoalition.org
  This website, the work of patient advocates Helen Haskell and Julia Hallisy, offers great resources for patients.
• Informed Patient Institute
  www.informedpatientinstitute.org
  IPI rates the usefulness of online health care report cards.

Suggestions on How to Incorporate Basic Patient Safety Techniques into Your Daily Work

1. Listen to the patient and the family.
2. Listen to each other.
3. Consider implementing a patient- and family-activated rapid response team at your institution. We can help you get started.
4. Encourage your patients and their families to write down the healthcare information they receive.
5. Develop and practice communication skills.

National Quality Forum and TMIT’s Monthly Webinar Series
NQF and TMIT host a monthly webinar series (plus additional resources and continuing education credit) on issues related to patient safety. Click here to learn more about the series, register for the next webinar, or review the webinar archive.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
AHRQ’s 10 patient safety tips for hospitals can be read here.

Institute for Family-Centered Care
The Institute for Family-Centered Care has an assortment of materials to help caregivers incorporated family-centered safety practices into their clinical work.

Not on My Watch
A website sponsored by Kimberly-Clark focusing on preventing healthcare-acquired infections.

According to the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2023, there are over 4 million registered nurses in the United States. However, it’s alarming to know that over 50% of them are not directly engaged in community service, as per the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. I think once you get the chance to review this resource you’ll find it provides valuable insights into the importance of community service in enhancing a nurse’s professional and personal growth and fostering patient-nurse relationships.

Norwich University released this resource guide titled:
Community Service for Nurses: Ideas, Resources, and Benefits

This guide provides detailed insights and resources on the following topics:

• A Look into the Impact of Community Service on Nursing Practice
• Overview of Community Service Opportunities for Nurses
• How Community Service Shapes Nursing Skills
• Understanding the Connection Between Nursing and Social Responsibility
• Ways to Balance Nursing Career and Community Service
• Importance of Networking and Mentorship in Community Service
• And much more!