Freeman Invites you to Participate in World Patient Safety Day

Joplin, MO – The global pandemic has reminded us all of the importance of safety for both patients and healthcare workers. It’s a topic that brings together prominent voices like former President Bill Clinton and the World Health Organization Director General, among others, to #uniteforsafecare.

On September 17, 2020, the Patient Safety Movement Foundation in tandem with The Leapfrog Group will host a virtual awareness event. The free event is open to the public and takes place from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm central time on YouTube Live.

The three-hour virtual event will connect patients, health workers, policymakers, celebrities and global citizens together to learn how patient and health worker safety can be advanced as well as what you can do to protect yourself and loved ones.

“Freeman Health System has many initiatives in place that help promote patient safety,” says Jeanee Kennedy, Interim Vice President of Nursing Services. “We conduct hourly rounding on patients during the day, and we round every 2 hours overnight.”

During these rounds, Freeman staff assess specific patient needs to help promote a safe environment for patients. Freeman also has robust programs in place to identify high-risk patients and targeted interventions intended to maintain a safe environment of care. Many of these systems are built to promote safe practices, such as medication scanning and our fall prevention program.

“In addition to clinical initiatives that support patient safety, we also make patient safety a focus of our education efforts,” Kennedy added. “We have simulation-based training for clinical employees and provide patient safety training to all members of our team during day one orientation. Annually, we conduct a patient safety survey in which employees provide feedback about their perception of patient safety in their workplace. The results of this survey help drive actionable change and improvement efforts for the health system.”

Keynote speakers at the World Patient Safety Day online event will be former President Bill Clinton, Clinton Foundation Founder and Chairman of the Board, and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization Director General.

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About Freeman Health System

Locally owned, not-for-profit and nationally recognized, Freeman Health System includes Freeman Hospital West, Freeman Hospital East, Freeman Neosho Hospital and Ozark Center – the area’s largest provider of behavioral health services – as well as two urgent care clinics, dozens of physician clinics and a variety of specialty services. In 2019, Freeman earned dozens of individual awards for medical excellence and patient safety from CareChex®, a quality rating system that helps consumers evaluate healthcare providers. U.S. News & World Report named Freeman Health System the Best Hospital in Southwest Missouri for 2019. With more than 300 physicians on staff representing more than 70 specialties, Freeman provides cancer care, heart care, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopaedics, children’s services and women’s services. Additionally, Freeman is the only Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in a 70-mile radius. For more information, visit freemanhealth.com.