Riverside responds to reporting requirement

The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has issued a directive to all Ontario hospitals to begin reporting new patient safety indicators.
Effective Sept. 30, hospitals must report cases of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile).
Starting Dec. 31, all cases of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), and Hospital Standardized Mortality Ratio (HSMR) must be reported.
Wayne Woods, president and CEO of Riverside Health Care Facilities, Inc., says this is a good opportunity to reinforce Riverside’s commitment to patient safety.
“We are committed to providing a safe environment for the people we serve,” he stressed. “We want to assure the public that we have policies and procedures in place to ensure the safety of our staff, patients, and residents.”
Hospitals also have been informed that rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia, central line infections, and surgical site infections, as well as hand hygiene compliance among health-care workers, must be reported as of April 30, 2009.
Tom Closson, president and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association, supports the public reporting of patient safety indicators.
In a recent news bulletin, he stated “. . . we believe it will inspire improved performance, enhance patient safety, and strengthen the public’s confidence in Ontario’s hospitals.”
Grace Silander, Riverside’s Risk and Patient Safety manager, noted patient safety has many components.
“Everything from hand hygiene, coughing etiquette (coughing into your sleeve instead of your hand), patient visiting, proper cleaning of medical equipment, the use of appropriate personal protective equipment, and using and adhering to isolation precautions help reduce the onset or spread of infections in the hospital,” she remarked.
Jodi Jewell, is the Occupational Health co-ordinator, explained Riverside already tracks most of the new patient safety indicators.
“The difference is that we must now report the data to the public,” she said.
Jewell also stressed the importance of proper hand hygiene.
“Washing your hands regularly and properly is really the best defence against the spread of infectious diseases,” she noted.