Patient Safety Awareness Week

While March 9-15 is officially Patient Safety Awareness Week, unofficially, every week is Patient Safety Awareness Week at St. Francis-Emory Healthcare. In fact, patient safety is top of mind at our hospital every day, every hour, every minute, and every second.

Patient safety is central to the “Do No Harm” principle, a fundamental obligation of healthcare providers to avoid harming their patients. Derived from the words “first, do no harm” attributed to ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, this principle is still easier said than done, even two millennia later. During this awareness week, many in the healthcare industry focus on educating patients and healthcare workers on safety practices; highlighting key safety issues such as infection prevention, medication errors, and falls; promoting a culture of safety within the hospital’s walls; and recognizing and celebrating achievements in patient safety.

This is an everyday occurrence at St. Francis-Emory. Our purpose is to provide high-quality, compassionate care in a safe environment so that we can deliver the most positive patient outcomes and experiences. “Safe” is one of the six domains of healthcare quality established by the Institute of Medicine, the same criteria that drive the ScionHealth (our parent company) National Quality Strategy (NQS), our clinical and cultural roadmap to success as a provider of healthcare.

We continually strive to make our hospital environment as safe as possible. Everyone from environmental services to infection control to our bedside caregivers plays a role in our efforts to deliver patient safety and find ways to improve our practices. In fact, our entire hospital team just completed a Culture of Safety and Engagement survey to gather feedback about our facility that will drive future improvement efforts.

Did you know St. Francis-Emory was recently ranked among the state’s top large hospitals by Georgia Trend, a monthly publication covering business, politics, and economic development in the state? The magazine rated St. Francis-Emory seventh among the 26 large hospitals (those with 250 patient beds or more) who made its 2024 Top Hospitals listing.

Each year, Georgia Trend evaluates Georgia hospitals that participated in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program. The hospitals are ranked by their total performance score, which is derived from four domains: clinical outcomes; person and community engagement; safety and efficiency; and cost reduction.

Please know that when you come through the door at St. Francis-Emory – whether via the emergency room or for scheduled care – your safety is always our priority.