Safety and quality champions

The road to high reliability is paved, in part, by safety coaches.

By: Laura Castro

The road to high reliability — exceptional consistency in accomplishing safety goals and avoiding errors — is paved, in part, by safety coaches.

Safety coaches at UF Health Shands are designated clinical care staff who actively engage their peers in quality and safety initiatives — whether it’s simply reminding them to wash their hands before interacting with a patient or helping with process improvement tools such as the online patient safety reporting system.

The program is successfully underway at UF Health Shands Psychiatric Hospital, and is now rolling out to other clinical departments at UF Health Shands.

Staff can learn more by contacting Sue Keating, clinical risk manager, at whitsu@shands.ufl.edu.