Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Making Patient Safety a Strategic Imperative

At the 7th Biennial Joanna Briggs International Colloquium in Chicago, Nancy Donaldson, R.N., director of the Centers for Nursing Research and Innovation at the University of California-San Francisco School of Nursing and a co-principal investigator for the California-based Collaborative Alliance for Nursing Outcomes (CALNOC), argued that "strategic imperatives" are critical for pressure ulcer reduction projects and other patient safety initiatives. According to Donaldson, nurses affiliated with CALNOC assess patients for pressure ulcers approximately 90 percent of the time, while 95 percent of high-risk patients receive appropriate care for pressure ulcer prevention from CALNOC nurses. Donaldson noted that in California, Stage III and Stage IV pressure ulcers must be reported to the state board of health. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services no longer reimburse providers for health care acquired pressure ulcers, among other conditions. "The catalyst for improvement isn't just always because it's the right thing to do, but also because it's the important thing to do for a host of strategic imperatives," Donaldson says. For more information on CALNOC's pressure ulcer reduction initiative, contact Nancy Donaldson at nancy.donaldson@nursing.ucsf.edu.