President's Message

Advancing Patient Safety Education Throughout the Year

Earlier this year, as we do each year, HQI and the Collaborative Healthcare Patient Safety Organization (CHPSO) celebrated Patient Safety Awareness Week — an annual recognition intended to encourage everyone to learn more about health care safety. It also serves as a dedicated time and platform for growing awareness about patient safety and recognizing the work that is already being done.

HQI and CHPSO are dedicated to advancing these important discussions not just for one week but throughout the year as we continue the movement to improve the safety of the health care system — for patients and the workforce.  

CHPSO regularly conducts webinars on topics ranging from maternal suicide to microbiome technologies, as well as Safe Table forums, which are driven by attendee participation and designed to empower providers to engage in robust, meaningful patient safety and quality improvement. 

Our offerings are also focused on supporting those in the health care field. For instance, HQI Cares: Implementing BETA HEART, which is open to all HQI members, offers a proven, holistic approach to reducing harm in health care by helping hospitals implement a reliable and sustainable culture of safety grounded in a philosophy of transparency. And an upcoming CHPSO webinar will walk participants through materials with the goal of creating a climate that helps diverse, dispersed, dynamic diagnostic teams provide diagnoses that are accurate, timely, and fully communicated.  

In addition, this fall HQI will host two annual conferences (in person for the first time since 2019) — one in Northern California (Nov. 6-7 in Napa) and one in Southern California (Oct. 3-4 in Long Beach). The annual conferences bring together management, patient safety officials, and front-line professionals to highlight successes, celebrate achievements, and chart a course that leads to higher quality patient care.  

They are an opportunity to tap into patient safety excellence, connect with peers and experts, and focus in on zero-harm care. Attendees will hear from internationally renowned patient safety experts discussing today’s most important issues, learn from shared experiences, and network with quality improvement professionals from across the western U.S.  

Whether it’s at a conference or online for a webinar, I encourage you to take advantage of these important resources. And know that we are here to support your hospitals as you strive daily to improve patient safety and quality. Because everyone interacts with the health care system at some point in their life, we can and must continue to do our part to keep health care safe for all.