Patient Safety

Patient Safety – Your safety and security during your hospital stay are extremely important to us. Doctors, nurses, and physical therapists are here to help you have a safe and speedy recovery, and a number of procedures are in place to protect your well-being. Let’s work together to prevent unnecessary accidents or injury and to make sure you remain safe and comfortable throughout your stay.

Bedside Call Button/Hospital Bed

We ask that you help us prevent accidents by using your bedside call button whenever you need assistance. Your bed is equipped with side rails to prevent falls. These are for your safety, so please leave them in the position the staff member has placed them.

Fall Prevention Guidelines For Patient And Family

Accidental falls may occur in the hospital. These accidents are as distressing to hospital staff as they are to the patient. Our nurses, doctors, and physical therapists are here to help you have a safe and speedy recovery. Your participation and cooperation will help you to prevent unnecessary injury.

Why Falls Happen

• Medication such as tranquilizers, sleeping tablets, pain relievers, blood pressure pills, or diuretics may make you dizzy and disoriented.
• Your illness, enemas, laxatives, long periods without food, or tests your doctor ordered may leave you weak and unsteady.
• The hospital may seem foreign and unfamiliar to you, especially when you wake up at night.

Some fall, such as those associated with illness or therapy, cannot be avoided. However, by following the safety guidelines, you, your family, and your friends can help reduce the risk of falling.

Safety Guidelines For Preventing Falls

• Ask your nurse for help if you feel dizzy or weak getting out of bed. Remember, you are more likely to faint or feel dizzy after sitting or lying for a long time. If you must get up without waiting for help, sit in bed awhile before standing. Then get up carefully and slowly begin to walk.
• It is recommended you wear rubber-soled or crepe-soled slippers or shoes whenever you walk in the hospital.
• While waiting for assistance, remain reclined or seated. Please be patient, someone will answer your call as soon as possible.
• Always follow your doctor’s orders and the nurses’ instructions regarding whether you must stay in bed or require assistance to go to the bathroom.
• When you need assistance, use your call light by your bed. Wait for the nurse/assistant to help you.
• Walk slowly and carefully when out of bed. Do not lean or support yourself on rolling objects such as I.V. poles or your bedside table.

Identification Badges

All Knapp Medical Center employees and volunteers are required to wear photo identification badges. If you are approached by anyone representing themselves as being affiliated with the hospital and if they are NOT wearing their badge with their photo and name facing you, ask to see their badge.

Keep From Getting Sick. Wash Your Hands Often!

Hand washing is the single best way to halt the spread of infection. By frequently washing your hands, you wash away germs that you have picked up from other people, or from contaminated surfaces.

Managing Pain

Pain can range from mild discomfort to an unbearable and excruciating experience. Pain is usually associated with stress, anxiety, and sometimes fear. Common terms used to describe pain include throbbing, aching, burning, gripping, and penetrating.

At Knapp Medical Center, pain relief treatment depends on the severity, duration, location, and cause of the pain. Tell your doctor or nurse if you are in pain. In order to provide appropriate treatment, they will assess your pain using the FACES scale.

Medications

Please give a list of all of the prescription medicines you are taking to your nurse including:

• Medications purchased in Mexico or Canada
• Over-the-counter medication
• Herbal supplements
• Vitamins and other supplements

So we can have an accurate record for your doctor, it is also important to include:

• Name of the medication
• Dosage
• How often do you take the medication each day

If any medication is required during your stay, your doctors will prescribe it for you.

Speak Up

Everyone has a role in making health care safe –physicians, health care executives, nurses, and technicians. Healthcare organizations across the country are working to make healthcare safety a priority. You, as the patient, can also play a vital role in making your care safe by becoming an active, involved, and informed member of your healthcare team. To help prevent healthcare errors, patients are urged to “Speak Up”.

• Speak up if you have questions or concerns. If you don’t understand, ask again. It’s your body, and you have a right to know.
• Pay attention to the care you are receiving. Make sure you’re getting the right treatments and medications from the right healthcare professionals. Don’t assume anything.
• Educate yourself about your diagnosis, the medical tests you are undergoing, and your treatment plan.
• Ask a trusted family member or friend to be your advocate.
• Know what medications you take and why you take them. Medication errors are the most common healthcare errors.
• Use a hospital, clinic, surgery center, or other types of healthcare organization that have undergone a rigorous on-site evaluation against established state-of-the-art quality and safety standards, such as that provided by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).
• Participate in all decisions about your treatment. You are the center of the health care team.

Safety Drills

Drills are held periodically to ensure that all staff knows what procedures to follow in the event of an emergency situation. If there is an actual alarm, your nurse will assist you in seeking proper shelter.