We Had Over 9,200 Great Catches!

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Every employee has the opportunity to identify unsafe conditions (circumstances where safety in health care delivery can be improved) and near misses (unsafe situations that are caught before they reach the patient) by placing a SafeWatch Event Report or calling 7-SAFE (77233).

Thanks to all our SafeWatch reporters in 2023, we had 9,200 Great Catches or Unsafe Conditions reports that led to system-based improvements. This makes over 6,000 Great Catches for the fifth consecutive year!

Congratulations to this year’s Great Catch Award winners!

Here are the latest Great Catch Award winners in 2023 from CGCH and CTCH. Be sure to read about Great Catches from all our hospitals in the previously published articles at the end of this article.

  • Desiree Caldwell, R.N., Med/Surg, CGCH, noticed that a patient had two different orders for a replacement medication, when the patient's serum level was returning to normal. She brought it to the attention of the provider and both orders were cancelled. Desiree's attention to detail prevented the patient from developing hyperkalemia. 
     
  • Sandy Rowe, R.N., CTCH, identified a duplicate medication order, which led to cancelling the second order and preventing a potential medication error.
     
  • Chris Looney, RRT, CTCH, spoke up when she discovered labs had not been collected. Because she voiced her observation, labs were reordered and collected before admission.
     
  • Angie Snell, R.N., Emergency Department, CTCH, noticed a patient's potassium was still low after receiving IV potassium. Knowing the patient had recreational drugs in his system, she expressed concern to the provider about sending him home as originally planned. The patient was admitted thanks to Angie pointing out the situation.
     
  • Angie Snell, R.N. and Anita Witt-Kinde, R.N., Emergency Department, CTCH, spoke up for patient safety and prevented a medication error when they realized vancomycin was ordered for a patient to be given as an IVP. Vgancomycin can only be given with Normal Saline 250 ml over 1 hour. The pharmacy was contacted and confirmed medication can only be given mixed as per directions on MAR.
     
  • Kim Smith, RT, CTCH, brought up a privacy concern.
     
  • Deidra Stiltner, R.N., CTCH, identified an error in the electronic medical record related to code status.

Don’t miss the stories we previously shared of these 2023 Great Catch winners!

 

Read about their Great Catches in these previously shared articles:

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Great Catch Award recipient Desiree Caldwell
Great Catch Award recipient Sandy Rowe
Great Catch Award recipient Chris Looney
Great Catch Award recipients Angie Snell and Anita Witt-Kinde
Great Catch Award recipient Kim Smith
Great Catch Award recipient Deidra Stiltner
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Research shows that before a patient is harmed, the event almost occurred over 600 times, but was avoided due to a keen eye or luck. Help us always prevent harm – report near misses and unsafe conditions!

There are two ways to report a Great Catch:

  • Go online to SafeWatch—access it through the icon on your computer's desktop or through the SafeWatch Reporting hub .
     
  • Call the event reporting phone number, 540-981-SAFE or 7-SAFE.This secure event reporting phone number may be used by any Carilion employee across the Carilion system.
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Help Keep Our Patients Safe
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There were 9,200 Great Catches reported for calendar year 2023. That is an increase by 2,000 from calendar year 2022!

Reporting potential errors or process issues helps us make improvements to keep our patients safe.

If you have a Great Catch to report, use SafeWatch or call the 7-SAFE line; reporting unsafe conditions and near misses count towards our Great Catch total.