In 2008, White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles adopted a
culture of safety, based on a model by Johns Hopkins University.
The culture extends throughout the entire organization and
includes a subcommittee of the hospital’s governing board. The
subcommittee, called Clinical Quality and Patient Safety,
monitors the hospital’s safety record and clinical performance,
guides progress towards established goals and holds hospital
leadership accountable for improvements.
In 2003, Sutter Health implemented an aggressive strategy to
reduce the number of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers. The goal
is to prevent these skin sores in all patients under the care of
Sutter Health hospitals throughout Northern California.
Clinical experts and leaders from throughout the Sutter Health
network came together to identify procedures and products that
lessen the risk of patients developing a pressure ulcers during
hospitalization. The results of this work included:
