First, Do No Harm: Durham VA’s Commitment to Patient Safety

At the Durham VA Health Care System, the safety and well-being of our Veterans are top priorities. When our Veterans enter our doors, they have high expectations, and rightly so. Who would want to get their medical care at a place where patient safety takes a backseat?

“No one comes into our hospital expecting things to go wrong and for errors to happen,” said Martha Alexander, a registered nurse, Air Force Veteran, and one of Durham VA’s three patient safety managers. “We’re always working to identify places and practices where error can be catastrophic to prevent harm to our patients.”

Proactivity is a keyword in patient safety, and it’s not the job of Patient Safety Managers; all employees at the Durham VA are trained to look for potential safety hazards and either correct them on the spot or report them up the line.

“Processes… that’s something we’re constantly looking at,” another Durham VA Patient Safety Manager and registered nurse, Amy Mathis, says. “We’re looking at those weak points where errors occur and eliminate or react to them.”

One of the biggest threats to patient safety is human error. After all, to err is human. Most of these errors are not catastrophic, although they can be if left unchecked. When a staff member makes a mistake that can potentially put a patient at risk, the emphasis is not to punish but to educate.

“We talk to the involved parties and investigate the incident,” said patient safety manager and registered nurse Jason Hinger. “After that, we’ll streamline or tweak a process or procedure and train staff to ensure the errors don’t happen again.”

However, the question remains: How do all the streamlining, education, and oversight ultimately help the thousands of Veterans who enter the Durham VA’s doors each year?

It’s placing screens on windows to prevent Veterans in crisis from self-harm. It’s identifying fall-risk Veterans when they come the Emergency Department and getting them physical therapy consults. And it’s processes, like better labeling for lab samples and medications.

“Our quality of care improves daily because of what we do,” Alexander says. “I see it this way: every Veteran who comes through our doors needs an advocate by their side, and that’s what I’m here for.”

To learn more about the VHA’s commitment to patient safety, please visit the VHA National Center for Patient Safety homepage.