Shared from WVU Medicine’s The Wright Stuff newsletter
Allison Suttle, MD, MBA, FACOG, chief quality officer of the WVU Health System, has termed our initiative to reduce human error throughout WVU Medicine as our “Journey to Mountain Zero.”
There are two realities to this situation. One is, we are human and mistakes and errors will occur. But, on the other hand, we must focus on limiting these errors to maximize our efforts to elevate the health of West Virginians and others in the region.
Two providers at St. Joseph’s Hospital helped us climb a little higher recently by using their experience and skills to ensure the best outcome possible for our patients.
Elsie Deeds, RN, who works on the medical-surgical unit at St. Joseph’s, received an order for a medication for a pediatric patient that didn’t seem correct to her. She asked another nurse to review it with her, and they ultimately discovered the order was incorrect.
By being thorough and trusting her instincts, Elsie was able to prevent a mistake that could have had an adverse effect on the patient. Great job, Elsie, and thanks for keeping that little one safe!
Michelle Dasher, PharmD, ’15, a clinical pharmacist at St. Joseph’s, also used her experience to ensure positive results for a pediatric patient who had a case of RSV. The nursing staff had concerns about safe administration of medication for the child after discharge. Michelle began working with multiple family members, including the mother and grandmother, on medication education. And she didn’t stop there.
Feeling that there was more she could do, Michelle created a poster and scheduled medication times and doses with checkmark areas for the family to complete as she wanted to ensure this child got the right medication at the right time.
I’m told going the extra mile is standard operating procedure for Michelle. Thank you so much, Michelle, for that extra care and attention!
Along with reducing errors, Elsie and Michelle also demonstrated the full range of our WVU Medicine Standards of Behavior – compassion, communication, commitment, and competence –especially competence, as they used their expertise to solve problems and maximize the opportunity for a positive outcome.
Thank you both for working so diligently to keep our patients safe! I know outstanding work like this occurs each and every day across our Health System, but I wanted to be sure to share these two outstanding examples with you.
