Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #120400

Judy Tupper, MS, CHES¹, Andrew F. Coburn, PhD¹, Mary Wakefield, PhD², and Ira Moscovice, PhD³. (1) Institute for Health Policy, Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine, P.O. Box 9300, Portland, ME 04104, (207) 228-8407, jtupper@usm.maine.edu, (2) Center for Rural Health, University of North Dakota School of Medicine, P.O. Box 9037, Grand Forks, ND 58202-9037, (3) Rural Health Research Center, University of Minnesota, 221 University Avenue SE, Suite 112, Minneapolis, MN 55414

The Tennessee Rural Hospital Patient Safety Demonstration is nearing the half-way point. Funded by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, the demonstration is a partnership of the Tennessee Hospital Association, eight small rural hospitals in Tennessee, the Tennessee Quality Improvement Organization and the Rural Health Research Team from the University of Southern Maine, University of North Dakota and the University of Minnesota. The goal of the demonstration is to test the feasibility, cost, and impact of implementing a set of patient safety interventions with a sample of small rural hospitals. This project will create a sustainable infrastructure in Tennessee for assisting all rural hospitals to implement critical safety improvements and to move toward a universal culture of safety. The project will achieve this goal by establishing, demonstrating and evaluating a process and methodology for assessing the status of hospital patient safety programs and for providing technical assistance tools and resources to assist hospitals in the implementation of organizational and clinical changes designed to prevent errors and improve safety. Participating hospitals completed the new AHRQ Patient Safety Culture Assessment Survey tool as a baseline measurement of patient safety culture. In the second phase of the project, teams of key hospital personnel completed a self-assessment tool to identify and prioritize rural hospital patient safety interventions. Participating hospitals are now currently partnered in smaller teams with peer hospitals and the QIO to implement a small number of the priority interventions. An evaluation of the demonstration will assess the short-term impact of implementation processes on the organizational and clinical systems of the participating hospitals for the purpose of monitoring progress and performance, and identifying the critical prerequisites and tools for efficient and effective patient safety programs.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will be able to
• describe a process and methodology for assessing the status of hospital patient safety programs
• identify technical assistance tools and resources to assist hospitals in the implementation of organizational and clinical changes designed to prevent errors and improve safety.

Keywords: Quality, Rural Health Care Delivery System

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation