Objectives

The goal of the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation is to open the pathways of communication between patients, doctors, nurses, and hospitals in an effort to enhance hospital safety and prevent adverse events. It is important to empower the patient and family with knowledge about the type of care they will receive in order to make informed decisions. Going to the hospital is often times a terrifying experience, and it is easy to get overwhelmed. Patients trust that the nurses, doctors, and hospitals are properly prepared to deal with all situations. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. It is vital to create awareness and literature that is accessible and easy for the patient to understand. It takes everyone working together as a team to ensure that patients, families, doctors, nurses, and hospitals are safe, informed, and protected.

The objectives of the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation are to:

1. Develop and create a patient awareness campaign for print and media that informs the public about the:

• Percentages of medical errors that occur during a patient’s hospital stay.
• Percentage (and types) of risks that are preventable.
• Need to adopt a “zero tolerance” policy for any loss of life due to preventable medication errors.
• Risk of using Narcotic PCA pumps /IV Pain medication.
• Lack of continuous monitoring of patients during their stay.
• Nurse/patient ratios at each hospital in San Antonio and the increased risks associated with high nurse/patient ratios.
• Importance of asking your doctor and the hospital whether or not they will monitor you during your stay.
• Importance of improving public access to the frequency of serious preventable adverse events in hospitals across our country.

2. Create a Website to serve as a:

• Question & Answer Center. Potential patients, or families of loved ones who will be a patient, can get answers to their questions before being admitted into the hospital, during their stay in the hospital, and after they are released.
• Forum. Provides a forum for individuals to share and review their experiences with hospitals to better inform future patients. There will also be a forum where hospitals can inform the community on their advances in patient safety. The forums will facilitate the discussion between hospitals, doctors, nurses, and consumers on improving patient safety. Areas of focus will be on technology (to better monitor patients) and communication (to better involve the patient and their families).
• Information Center. Provides information on hospitals and indicates the types of technology being used as well as the nurse/patient ratio for the type of procedure you will be having at the hospital.
• Message Center. Has a blog and message board where users can post their thoughts and concerns. A group of doctors or nurses will also be available to answer basic questions and concerns online.
• Prescription Drug Information Resource. Provides resources to list commonly used drugs that are administered in the hospital and list their side-effects.
• Place to Share Your Story. Serves as a place where families can share their stories of loved ones that suffered from preventable medical errors or that benefited from knowledge gained from the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation.

3. The Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation will support a multidisciplinary team of medical doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, pharmacists, respiratory specialists, and community representatives to develop and implement new and proven safety measures and technology in Bexar County hospitals that will work toward:

• Safe, cohesive and consistent protocols of PCA therapy throughout all hospitals in San Antonio. All hospitals will adopt the same standard protocols to eliminate confusion among doctors and nurses who work at different hospitals in the city to reduce medical errors.
• Acquiring technologically advanced PCA pumps and monitoring systems to increase patient safety.
• Acquiring technology for use by nurses and doctors to prevent medical errors.
• Support research of new technologies and advances in patient safety.
• Improving hands on care for patients who are immobilized or cannot care for themselves by providing resources such as volunteer healthcare providers, access to paid healthcare providers , or encouraging family members to be present with the patient for the duration of their stay.
• To encourage lawmakers to support legislation that will enable all admitted patients to receive access to proper monitoring and patient guardian materials while in hospitals in the State of Texas and across the United States.