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Environment of Care News, March 2016, Volume 19, Issue 3

ECNews

The Joint Commission

March 2016 Volume 19 Issue 3

Environment of Care | Emergency Management | Life Safety

Spotlight on Success

Safety PreparAthon provides staff education

I

n a time when health care organizations are continually chal- lenged to improve patient outcomes, reduce risks to patients and staff, and reduce costs, making time for safety training

can often be difficult. Health care organizations are tasked with increasing patient satisfaction, improving scores on employee safety culture surveys, and finding ways to keep staff actively involved in fire and emergency management drills and exercises. Nevertheless, organizations can reap significant benefits from providing training and education for staff on how they can con- tribute to safety in their organization, as well as to continuous Joint Commission survey readiness.

Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital (CFMH) in Rocky Mount, Virginia, has met this challenge head on. The hospital recently held a two-day education event for all staff, dubbed the Safety PreparAthon. “The Safety PreparAthon included training and educational materials related to infection prevention and control, patient safety, emergency management, and life safety

by Mark Kaldahl, HSD

topics,” says Betty Underwood, safety/emergency management consultant at CFMH.

“CFMH employs approximately 270 workers. Of those, 104 attended the PreparAthon,” Underwood explains. To create this event, the hospital divided a four-section auditorium into stations, each addressing a specific component of the educa- tion. Among the subjects addressed at the event that relate to environment of care were the following:

Charlie Brumfield completed the Fire Safety questionnaire. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital. Used with permission.

• General safety

• Fire safety

• Weather safety

• Disaster triaging

• Emergency management

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ENVIRONMENT OF CARE

• Question:

  
  

• Answer

  
  

  Topic 1: 200

  
  

  rnado has been sighted in en indicated by National

  ice Doppler radar.

  Henry Patterson assists in the Med Sled Training.

  

  Photo Credit: Courtesy of Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital. Used with permission.

  
  

  Multifaceted educational approach

  Th hospital used a variety of strategies to educate employees during this event. For instance, patient safety storyboards were displayed throughout the auditorium that address

  these and other safety concerns. Th hospital used popular themes to help make the learning fun and capture the staff s attention. For example, a football-themed board presented key information related to National Patient Safety Goals,

  a tornado warning?

  

  n a warning is issued, take cover mediately.

  
  

  Topic 1: 400

• Question:

  an average of 53 people hunderstorms produce this have the potential for other

  luding tornadoes, strong winds, ires and flash flooding.

• Answer

t is lightning?

The above examples show how Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital used interactive games to educate staff about safety risks in the environment of care. This game was modeled after the television game show Jeopardy!®

Source: Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital. Used with permission.

teamwork, and time-outs before surgery.

The event also featured a simulated environment for a learning activity CFMH called, “A Hospital Room of

Horrors.” This mock patient room mirrored the hospital’s regular patient rooms and contained 16 patient safety, occupational safety and health, and environment of care hazards. Staff participating in this activity received a form and were asked to walk through the room. Their goal was to identify at least 10 of the safety hazards for a chance to win a door prize.

The safety hazards simulated in the room included the following:

• Bed up in the air, not in lowest position (with patient in bed)

• Side rail down

• Call bell out of patient’s reach

• Patient’s own medicine bottle in his hand

• Urine specimen on bedside table, and nurse’s drink right beside it

• Unlabeled medication syringes left on bedside table

• Patient not wearing identification bracelet (bracelet was taped to bed)

• Wheelchair beside bed unlocked

• Extension cord in the room (which is also a trip hazard)

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  (continued from page 3)

• Red biohazard bag in regular trash can

• Foley catheter up on bed, not lowered to gravity

• Space heater in patient’s room

  
  

  Learn by playing

  Another key component of the Prepar- Athon involved exercises modeled after popular games. For example, employees who were learning about time-outs before surgery practiced time-outs using

  the board game Operation®. Participants also engaged in a game focused on the

  environment of care and emergency management issues, based on the tele- vision game show Jeopardy! ®, which involves players receiving clues and then responding to the clue in the form of

  a question.

  Topics in this game included fire safety, emergency management, security, utilities, hazardous waste, and hospi-

  tal-specific policy and procedures. Staff selected a category, received an answer, and had to provide the question to correspond with that answer. (See the examples on page 3.)

  In another game, employees spun a wheel to select a category that challenged them with questions about the envi- ronment of care issues. “The interactive games were fun but also challenged and engaged employees while they were being educated,” Underwood says.

  
  

  Hands-on training

  In other areas of the hospital, employees engaged in hands-on training. Employ- ees practiced moving their colleagues

  

  Fire Drill Observer Reporting Tool

  
  

  FIRE DRILL OBSERVER REPORT

  
  

  ALARM LOCATION: TIME: OBSERVER NAME: DATE:

  Before starting the drill, be sure to contact:

  
  

  • The House Supervisor / Administrator-on-Call (when they are on site)

  • Surgery

  • The Fire Alarm Monitoring Station @ 1-800-xxx-xxxx Account Number xxx-xxxx

  • Local Fire and Police Dispatch Office @ xxx-xxx-xxxx

Notes

I have reviewed the hospital’s fire plan RACE with those staff participating in this drill. The signature of those participating in this drill can be found on the back of this form.

down flights of stairs using special “sleds” designed for moving patients during

Signature:

Date:

disasters, fires, or other emergencies requiring evacuation. At least 27 staff

Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital used this Fire Drill Observer Reporting Tool to

evaluate their performance during fire drills. Used with permission.

members participated in this training. Outside the building on hospital grounds, staff participated in fire extin- guisher training. Fires were started in a

containment barrel, and staff had the opportunity to practice their skills and

put out the fire using a fire extinguisher.

PreparAthon participants included all levels of staff, including leaders. “Employees as high up the ladder as our

administrator and our director of nursing stated that [the PrepareAthon] was the

first time they have ever actually used a fire extinguisher.” says Underwood. Staff on all levels indicated that they enjoyed the event and that they found much value in this training.

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Spotlight on Success

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Though the hospital considers the Safety PreparAthon a valuable training opportunity, this is not the only time during the year that these safety messages are heard. Every fire drill conducted at CFMH involves staff addressing a list of fire safety questions; for example, staff are asked to explain the acronym “PASS.” PASS stands for Pull, Aim, Squeeze, and Sweep, and it provides guidance on how to use a fire extinguisher. These prin- ciples, taught at the PreparAthon, are reinforced throughout the year during monthly department drills, annual education programs, and periodic staff interviews. (See the sample of the Fire Drill Observer Reporting Tool that

CFMH used during this exercise on page 4.)

Going forward, CFMH is thinking bigger, particularly in the area of emergency man- agement. “We hope to expand this event next year to include agencies throughout the region,” says Underwood. “Their exper- tise will help broaden education on topics such as weather spot- ting, mass casualties, and other disaster-related topics.” EC

Lettitia Furrow puts out the fire while Wayne Scott and Henry Patterson look on.

About the author: Mark Kaldahl, HSD, is the facility support director at Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital in Rocky Mount, VA. He received his doctoraal degree in Health & Safety from Indiana University.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital. Used with permission.

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