DETROIT, April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Five ways to make care safer for certain patients. How to boost the general public’s “health literacy.” Designing a new hospital for safety. Preventing medication errors.
All of these topics and more will be discussed at the third annual Michigan Health and Safety Coalition conference April 14-15 at the Ford Motor Company Conference and Event Center, 1151 Village Road in Dearborn. The coalition is a group of 15 organizations that includes health plans and major employers as well as hospital, physician, consumer and labor organizations in the state. Its mission is to help improve health care quality and patient safety across all care settings.
About 250 health care professionals are expected to attend the conference to learn how to improve patient safety through innovation and action. The conference will run from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday, April 14 and from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Thursday, April 15.
“This conference will feature reports on new patient safety and quality initiatives, and showcase cutting-edge patient safety practices,” said Tom Simmer, M.D., coalition chair and vice president of Medical Affairs and chief medical officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. “Our goal is to make Michigan a national leader in patient safety.”
Keynoting the conference is Kenneth Kizer, M.D., who is president and CEO of the National Quality Forum in Washington, D.C. Kizer will speak at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday on “A Roadmap for Safer Health Care,” including the public health impact of health care errors, key attributes of a culture of safety, and five ways to make care safer for certain patients.
During breakout sessions on Thursday, conference attendees can learn how to boost the general public’s “health literacy” (8:30 to 10 a.m.), design a new hospital for safety using Grand Rapids’ Metropolitan Hospital as a case study (10:30 a.m. to noon), and prevent medication errors (10:30 a.m. to noon).
Following is the conference agenda. For more subject details and the names of conference presenters, go to the coalition’s Web site http://www.mihealthandsafety.org/ and click on the “Conference Brochure” link on the home page.
Wednesday, April 14 9 a.m. Opening remarks by Tom Simmer, M.D. Chair, Michigan Health and Safety Coalition Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan 9:15 a.m. General session: “Errors: A Balance Between Learning and Accountability” 10:15 a.m. General session: “A Roadmap for Safer Health Care: The National Quality Forum’s Safe Practices” 11:15 a.m. General session: “Nurse Staffing and Quality of Care: What Does Current Research Tell Us?” 1:15 p.m. General session: “Patient Safety: Culture, Systems and Human Factors” 2:15 p.m. General session: “Developing and Sustaining Patient and Family Involvement in Safety” 3 p.m. General session: “Safe by Design” Thursday, April 15 8:30 a.m. Three concurrent sessions: “Experience of a Learning Organization: How to Grow Beyond Blame” “A Health Plan’s Impact on Patient Safety” “Health Literacy and Patient Safety: Implications for Health Care Professionals” 10:30 a.m. Three concurrent sessions: “Improving Patient Safety in Community Pharmacies” “Metropolitan Hospital’s New Concepts in Designing for Safety” “A Community’s Response to the IOM’s Challenge for Quality Health Care” Throughout the lobby areas of the conference center, patient safety educational posters will be displayed. The posters will spotlight patient safety projects and outcomes by Michigan hospitals and health systems. Michigan Health and Safety Coalition members include: * Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan * DaimlerChrysler Corporation * Ford Motor Company * General Motors Corporation * International Union, UAW * Michigan Association of Health Plans * Michigan Consumer Health Care Coalition * Michigan Department of Community Health * Michigan Education Special Services Association * Michigan Health & Hospital Association * Michigan Nurses Association * Michigan Osteopathic Association * MPRO * Michigan Pharmacists Association * Michigan State Medical Society
Michigan Health and Safety Coalition
CONTACT: Helen Stojic of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan,+1-313-225-8113; or Sherry Mirasola of Michigan Health & Hospital Association,+1-517-323-3443
