At Princeton Health, the phrase good catch has nothing to do with football or fishing — it’s all about fostering a culture of safety.
The Good Catch program, an effective effort in past years at Princeton Health, was reimplemented in February by the Patient Safety Committee. Employees and providers are encouraged to report near misses — situations or events that could have, but ultimately did not, cause patient harm. The safety committee then studies each report for potential lessons to promote patient and staff safety.
“Each near miss is a learning opportunity,” said Tina Bloemer, director of patient safety, quality and risk. “Sharing the story of a near miss allows us to identify and mitigate potential harm. It enables us to design highly reliable clinical and operational processes to prevent similar events in the future.”
The near miss can be a broad issue — catching mislabeled IV bags or medications, for instance — or a situation or event related to the treatment of an individual patient.
Most Princeton Health staff members can report a near miss through Midas. Visit the Princeton Intranet homepage and click Safety Event Report (MIDAS). Then select the event category from the list below:
The Patient Safety Committee evaluates and scores each report based on timeliness and the:
- Impact on safety in the workplace or patient care.
- Potential severity.
- Opportunity for education on lessons learned.
The committee uses the reviews to select Good Catch Award winners. Each month, the committee will select one winner whose submission was determined to have the greatest potential impact on patient or staff safety to receive a $100 cash prize.
Congratulations to our Good Catch Award winners in February, March, and April:
Dan Marino, RN (left), nurse manager, PACU, and Mindi Nahoum, RN, nurse manager, Interventional Radiology and Cardiac Catheterization Lab
Allyson Dworacek, medical technician, Lab
Amy Kane, RN, Department of Education
Patrycia Mazzella, RN, Critical Care
Kelly Clark, RN, Acute Care of the Elderly
Erin Sweeny, DPT, Princeton Rehabilitation
Daysha Prather, phlebotomist
Gary Collins, CT technician
Jacqueline Galya, occupational therapist