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News Releases - 2009
May 1, 2009
West Park Earns Safety Award From Province
Centre one of seven to receive prestigious award for excellence
in patient safety
Toronto (May 1, 2009) – West Park Healthcare Centre was recognized for excellence and innovation in patient safety by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for developing a process to ensure up-to-date allergy alerts in its electronic patient records.
The Honourable David Caplan, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care visited West Park today and congratulated West Park on receiving the 2008 Dr. William Sibbald Award for Excellence in Patient Safety. West Park was one of seven organizations across Ontario to receive the award.
“I want to congratulate you on your innovation and measureable success in improving the safety culture in your hospital,” Minister Caplan said. “It is our hope that the ‘Systemic Approach to Improving Allergy Documentation’ model can be held as a best practice for other healthcare institutions to adopt.”
West Park’s Allergy Documentation Improvement project began in May 2008 to ensure patient allergy assessments were regularly updated and included in the electronic patient records – allowing instant alerts about possible adverse reactions from medications or diet. Compliance rates for updating the data jumped from 55 per cent at the beginning of the project, to 97 per cent in February 2009.
Since allergy documentation improvements have been made at West Park, there have been no medication incidents related to allergies and food services staff can now implement food restrictions sooner to reduce the chance of reactions from food allergies occurring.
“West Park continually strives to enhance the culture of patient safety at West Park, and this project is a shining example of the efforts we continually make,” said Anne-Marie Malek, West Park President and CEO. “It is also a great example of how well teams from different departments across the Centre work together toward one common goal – patient safety.”
Minister Caplan was visiting West Park to become familiar with its campus redevelopment plans. He took the opportunity to also see the electronic record system in action in a clinical setting.
West Park Healthcare Centre provides specialized rehabilitation, complex continuing care and long term care services, helping people overcome their health barriers to live the fullest lives possible after the onset of an illness or injury. The Centre is also recognized internationally for its expertise and research in respiratory medicine, particularly for its care for people with tuberculosis, and its rehabilitation services for those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
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For more information, please contact:
Vince Rice, Director, Public Relations
Phone: (416) 243-3730
Pager: (416) 372-2915
Email: vice.rice@westpark.org
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