Value compass: Best quality, best service, affordability

Department: Med/Surg unit on 3 South, Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Medical Center (Northwest)

Problem: Patient Safety Assistant hours were very high for this med/surg unit and were not a budgeted item. In addition, the number of patient safety assistants didn't seem to be decreasing the number of patient falls.

Metric: Number of Patient Safety Assistant hours per month; patient fall rate

Labor co-lead: Tiffany Dawson, RN, OFNHP

Management co-lead: Cathy Hevy

Physician co-lead: Wendy Meyers, MD

First small test: New methods were developed to prevent patient falls, including more frequent check-ins with the patient to make sure they had what they needed, engaging family members, and using options like bed alarms, low-boy beds and other similar items to help reduce falls. Staff were asked to use these methods and then assess whether a Patient Safety Assistant was required to maintain patient safety.

Result: Staff began to use the methods and their results were successful. Use of Patient Safety Assistants decreased from about 300 hours per month to 30 hours per month, with an annual savings of $60,000, while maintaining patient safety standards.

Next step: The UBT will continue to monitor the process and make sure it continues to work well for patients and staff. There are also plans to expand the program to other units in the hospital.