Local Healthcare Organizations Sign Patient Safety Zero Harm Commitment

Six Great Lakes Bay Area healthcare organizations have signed the 2020 Statement of Public Commitment to Zero Harm, a formal document committing to jointly advance the region’s healthcare delivery systems to achieve a target of zero harm. The signing took place at THRIVE’s webcast featuring the U.S. Surgeon General, VADM (Vice Admiral) Jerome M. Adams.  His keynote address featured his national platform, Community Health and Economic Prosperity   and THRIVE’s portfolio of work in the region.

THRIVE (Transforming Health Regionally in a Vibrant Economy) is a cross-sector collaboration with broad partnership and engagement in the region. It is facilitated by two multi-stakeholder organizations;  MiHIA (Michigan Health Improvement Alliance), working to achieve a community of health excellence and GLBRA (Great Lakes Regional Alliance), focused on economic prosperity.  The systems approach is designed to connect and drive progress along with key stakeholders.

As part of the THRIVE Phase 1 implementation, and in direct response to ongoing research documenting the extent of healthcare harm in the nation, the Patient Safety Task Force set their focus on zero harm.   Recently, Johns Hopkins University research indicated that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States.  This collaborative effort adds to the extensive and ongoing patient safety efforts already underway within each individual health system. The end result is one that will advance regional healthcare to an entirely new level of patient safety while strengthening the region’s communities and economy.

The Statement explains the commitment to achieve a target of zero harm for all those regionally served by January 1, 2025, through health system partnership and collaboration..  It is further strengthened by the accountability of public tracking and reporting of progress. The statement is available to view at: www.thrivegreatlakesbay.org/patientsafety. This commitment is a central step of the THRIVE Patient Safety Task Force, with representation from the following organizations; Ascension Northern Ministries/St. Mary’s, Covenant HealthCare, HealthSource Saginaw, McLaren Health Care, MidMichigan Health, and the Saginaw Veteran’s Administration. As one of the major interventions of the THRIVE initiative, all progress tracking and reporting will be available on the community dashboard: http://dashboard.mihia.org/

“All of our institutions have a long standing focus on patient safety and quality of care, and we are now among a bold subset of leaders across this nation who have made the profound commitment to truly delivering on the promise of Zero Harm.  This vision will become our reality as we engage the full capacity of our medical, technological, and professional resources, and as we humbly strive to deliver healthcare excellence to the people of the Great Lakes Bay Region.  Our wonderful people are the inspiration that drives us all!” says Dr. Sasha Savage, M.D., the THRIVE Chief Health Officer and leader of THRIVE’s Patient Safety Taskforce.

The signatories of the statement are the individuals responsible for the healthcare system collaboration on this historic endeavor, and include: Stephanie Duggan, MD, CEO and Clark Headrick, DO, CMO of Ascension Northern Ministries/St. Mary’s, Ed Bruff, CEO and Mike Sullivan, MD, CMO from Covenant HealthCare, Lisa Lapham, CEO and Susan Graham, RN of HealthSource Saginaw, Clarence Sevillian, CEO and Norman Chapin, MD, CMO of McLaren Health Care, Diane Postler-Slattery, PHd, FACHE, CEO and Lydia Watson, MD, CMO of MidMichigan Health, Barbara Bates, MD, MBA, CEO of the Saginaw Veterans Administration, and Sasha P. Savage, MD, CHO of THRIVE.

The effort is part of Phase 1 in THRIVE’s portfolio of projects designed with community input and careful data collection and analysis. All of THRIVE’s interventions are designed to fulfill its mission to improve health and sustained economic growth in the region through highly effective and coordinated stakeholder collaboration.