| WHO & WHAT: |
The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania will join other hospitals throughout the nation in support of National Time Out Day – a campaign to remind hospital staff the vital importance of performing the “Time Out” and assuring all team members are fully engaged and committed to this process. “At the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), patient safety is our highest priority. Hence we are committed to performing a “Time Out” before each and every procedure we perform,” said Victoria L. Rich, PhD, chief nurse executive and associate executive director of HUP. |
| WHEN: |
Wednesday, June 16th
7 am – 3 pm |
| WHERE: |
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Main, Ravdin Lobby, Mezzanine
3400 Spruce St., Phila., PA 19104
Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine
Atrium
3400 Civic Center Blvd., Phila., PA 19104 |
| WHY: |
The purpose of the “Time Out” is to conduct a final assessment to assure that OR staffs have verified that all information regarding a patient is relevant and correct. During the “Time Out”, all other activities are suspended while every member of the multidisciplinary team actively participates in the “Time Out” process. The “Time Out” is an interactive, methodical, and standardized approach to assure patient safety. The methodology employed involves all members of the team including but not limited to the physician, anesthesia providers, RN, and technicians initiating the procedure. One designated team member initiates and documents the discussion which focuses on assuring we have the correct patient, agree on the correct procedure site and agree on the procedure to be performed.
The goal of this campaign is not only to reinforce this practice amongst colleagues but also to increase public awareness regarding the extensive measures that are taken to ensure their safety. While patients may question the creditability of health care providers when they are asked multiple times to verify their name or the laterality of the procedure site, in actuality it is quite the reverse. The educated consumer should feel at ease and confident that this redundancy is a precursor to ensuring the safest experience possible. Likewise, patients should feel empowered to ask if they are ever skeptical about the certainty of the procedure being done. Additionally, health care providers need to be receptive to this scrutiny. |
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.