AMSN North Texas is proud to make available to its membership this Web cast presentation. (Click on file below.)Make a difference by supporting, not resisting, process changes that will promote SAFE CARE-SAFE PASSAGE in your facility.

Creating a culture of safety in hospitals is a topic of great interest and debate in the healthcare industry. With 195,000 people dying each year in hospitals because of medical mistakes and only about 10% of healthcare professionals speaking up when they have concerns, it is imperative that hospitals create cultures of safety by increasing the frequency and skill of their communication.

The free Web cast of Feb. 8th, 2006 featured new data from leading healthcare institutions that further demonstrated evidence that skilled communication is ‘thee’ answer to solving some of healthcare's most crucial patient safety problems. Creating a culture of safety can be related to significant gains in quality of care, productivity, and staff turnover. The Silence Kills study results, unveiled a year ago by Vital Smarts, The American Association of Critical-care Nurses, and top-ranking healthcare officials including JCAHO President Dennis O'Leary, demonstrated people's ability to hold Crucial Conversations-emotionally and politically risky discussions-is key to creating a culture of safety and also relates to significant gains in quality of care, productivity, and staff turnover.

Healthcare leaders at institutions like Sharp HealthCare, Spectrum Health System, University of Colorado Hospital, and others have used Crucial Conversations to drive safety, quality, and work environment improvements. Additionally, statistically significant results show the Crucial Conversations program at Maine General Health has helped rapidly increase the frequency of employees speaking up about vital clinical and team issues-some areas saw more than 150 percent improvement. From the operating rooms to the boardrooms of some of the largest and most prestigious healthcare systems in the US, learn how being skilled in crucial conversations and creating cultures of safety can literally save lives.

www.vitalsmarts.com