Mission Statement: It is our belief that an effective Hospital Safety Committee is engaged in a process of continuous quality improvement in Safety and that a multidisciplinary group responsible for analyzing and resolving Environment of Care issues in the hospital will better insure safety for patients, visitors and staff.
Chair Name: Ted S. Rorrer
Committee Contact Person: Ted S. Rorrer
Phone number: 205-934-1247
Email address: trorrer@uabmc.edu
Top 3 FAQ
1. Is there a process through which Environment of Care (EOC) issues are reported and/or investigated?
Yes. The HSC operates as a multidisciplinary performance improving team whereby EOC issues are reported, investigated via data collection and evaluation and recommendations and/or action plans are submitted to Hospital Leadership.
2. Are there focus areas for the HSC?
While the HSC routinely addresses the EOC disciplines, the HSC also may address:
- injuries to patients or others coming to the hospital's facilities as well as incidents of property damage
- occupational illnesses and injuries to staff
- security incidents involving patients, staff or others coming to the hospital's facilities or property
- hazardous materials and waste spills, exposures, and other related incidents
- fire-safety management problems, deficiencies, and failures
- equipment-management problems, failures, and user errors
- utility systems management problems, failures, or user errors
- emergency management concerns
Safety issues/conditions are brought to HSC, discussions of those issues/conditions that include Root Cause Analysis (RCA) are held. RCA is an evaluation process that identifies the basic cause of an adverse event and the actions required to prevent recurrence. It asks first WHAT happened, HOW did it happen and finally WHY did it happen. Discussions continue with identification of how recurrence can be prevented and this may become a recommendation of the HSC that also may include suggested action plans to implement the recommendation.
Topic of interest Number 1:
The Hospital Safety Committee is the multidisciplinary group responsible for analyzing and resolving Environment of Care issues. The committee is comprised of representatives from administration, nursing, risk management, patient safety, planning, as well as leaders from each Environment of Care discipline which include Hospital Safety, UAB Police, Hospital Maintenance, Biomedical Engineering, and a Hazardous Materials representative from Environmental Health and Safety.
Areas of responsibility are as follows:
- The Hospital Safety Manager shall serve as the chair of the Hospital Safety Committee.
- An Associate Vice President as assigned by Hospital Administration shall provide executive leadership.
- Leadership of the Environment of Care disciplines and other key Joint Commission functions shall be provided as follows:
- Safe Environment – Hospital Safety Manager
- Secure Environment – UAB Police Captain of Hospital precinct
- Hazardous Materials and Waste – UAB Environmental Health & Safety AVP
- Medical Equipment – Director of Biomedical and Clinical Engineering Department
- Fire Safety – Hospital Maintenance Engineer responsible for Life Safety equipment and Hospital Safety individual responsible for fire drills
- Utilities - Hospital Maintenance Engineer
- Emergency Management – UAB Medicine Director of Emergency Management
- Infection Control – ICP as assigned
- Risk Management – Risk Manager as assigned
- Environmental Services – As assigned by the Department
- Facility Planning – As assigned by the Department
- Physical Security – As assigned by the Department
- Policies and Standards – As assigned by the Department
- Women's Services – As assigned by the Department
- CPM Nursing – As assigned by the Department
- JC Regulatory Affairs – As assigned by the Department
- Corporate Compliance – As assigned by the Department
- UAB Call Center - As assigned by the Department
Topic of interest Number 2:
The Hospital Safety Committee meets at least six times per year to address Environment of Care, risk management, patient safety, quality, and other issues as appropriate. The Hospital Safety Committee maintains minutes of each meeting. The minutes summarize materials presented, issues identified, recommendations and actions to be taken. The minutes also include a tracking log designed to assure management of all activities until they are resolved.
Links
Standards and Clinical Resources: https://scr.hs.uab.edu
The Joint Commission: http://www.jointcommission.org
OSHA: http://www.osha.gov
Meeting Dates:
2018 Hospital Safety Committee Meetings
All meetings will be held in WP Board Room or JT Conference Room JT 1007.
8:30 a.m. -10:00 a.m.
Thursday, January 25, 2018 (JT) - Management Plans
Thursday, February 22, 2018 (JT) - Annual Evaluation/Quarterly Reports
Thursday, April 26, 2018 (JT) - Quarterly Reports
Thursday, May 24, 2018 (JT)
Thursday, July 26, 2018 (JT) - Quarterly Reports
Thursday, August 23, 2018 (WPCCB)
Thursday, October 25, 2018 (JT) - Quarterly Reports
Thursday, November 15, 2018 (JT) note: 3rd Thursday in November