Talk about patient safety

March 12-18 is “Patient Safety Awareness Week,” when the National Patient Safety Foundation encourages hospitals and other health care organizations to host local activities promoting awareness of the need to continually improve patient safety and to involve the public in those improvement efforts.

This year's theme is again “United for Patient Safety,” and it highlights the role that all of us in health care play in keeping patients safe and free from harm.

The AHA has collected many case studies on hospitals’ patient safety success stories and plans to feature several of them, along with resources from across the association and our professional membership groups, at www.aha.org/PSAW. It’s our way of celebrating the steady, impressive improvement in the quality of care and patient safety that continues to take place in hospitals across America. We also will highlight this great work taking place across the field on our blog and social media.

We encourage you to do the same in your communities. Tell your story – and use it as the foundation of your communication efforts during Patient Safety Awareness Week. Check out the Patient Safety Awareness Week website to learn more about how you can share the good news about all you do for your patients.

For America’s hospitals, every week and every day is dedicated to continually enhancing patient safety and preventing harm from occurring to patients. And as you focus on doing what is best for patients, the AHA will continue to keep our focus on getting you the resources and support you need to continue your journey to excellence.

The doors of a hospital never close, and the public continually expects you to deliver high-quality care. By seizing every opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to continuous improvement, hospitals can fulfill their promise of providing the best possible care to every patient who walks through their doors.