National Patient Safety Foundation Unveils 2011 Awareness Campaign

In a concerted effort to encourage and strengthen collaboration between patients, families and healthcare providers, the National Patient Safety Foundation today announced its 2011 Patient Safety Awareness Week campaign. "Are You In? Commit to Safer Health Care" will take place March 6-12, 2011, highlighting the need for healthcare participants from patient to provider to be informed, involved and invested in making healthcare safe.

Patient Safety Awareness Week (PSAW) is an annual, NPSF-led education and awareness campaign for healthcare safety. Each year, healthcare organizations internationally take part in the event by prominently displaying the NPSF campaign logo and promotional materials within their organizations and deploying NPSF educational resources to hospital staff. NPSF is the founding sponsor of Patient Safety Awareness Week and has led the event since 2002, annually producing a visible campaign theme and robust toolkits specific to the most pressing patient safety issues. This year, for the first time, NPSF is extending the availability of the toolkits to all healthcare organizations not just members of its hospital program.

The 2011 PSAW toolkits provide resources specific to reducing hospital readmissions and understanding cultural competency. Now, more than ever in the patient safety landscape, a focus on empowering patients and strengthening patient-provider communications are seen as paramount to reducing error within the health system and reducing readmission rates. Equally important is the need to understand the impact of cultural diversity and inherent safety risks so that participants are informed, involved and invested.

For more information on Patient Safety Awareness Week and to purchase toolkits visit www.npsf.org.