Walk the Talk

Empowering all staff to speak up to enhance patient safety is a goal of a new safety training course at Elkhart General Hospital. The program known as TeamSTEPPS (Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety) standardizes communication among departments, physicians and patient-care staff, so associates can more effectively share information about patient care.

“It takes everyone communicating in the same language about patient care that will help create the safest environment for our patients,” says Elkhart General Risk Manager Jeniphor Egan. “Thanks to this program, associates will now be more comfortable about speaking up when they observe something that could affect patient safety.”

TeamSTEPPS, used by industries across the country, is an evidence-based framework that aims to improve team performance and patient safety by teaching four skills: Leadership, Situation Monitoring, Mutual Support and Communication. The training program is aimed at improving communication, especially with handoffs and transitions.

Clinical staff, including physicians, are attending a four-hour course, while non-clinical associates take a two-hour course. Class session dates and times are now uploaded into NetLearning.

TeamSTEPPS STEERING COMMITTEE
Lisa Blouin
Jacquelin Davis
Kimberly Detwiler
Jeniphor Egan
Pam Goddard-Dunfee
Genevieve Lankowicz, MD
Tami Long
Shelby Morse
Michaela Nufer
Katherine Russell
Coreena Schroyer
Pamela Vail
Amy Wardlow
Don Westerhausen, MD
Steve Willoughby