It’s Your Health

It’s Your Voice

Your voice matters, so speak up!

Guidelines for

involvement in your care

Patient Safety Starts with You

While you are at Virginia Mason, you are the most important member of your health-care team. We want to hear from you!

nLet us know how we are doing. nTell us if we can provide better care

for you. nAsk questions about anything you

don’t understand.

Input from our patients helps us improve service and provide a safer health-care environment. You should feel comfortable and empowered to question anything you don’t understand.

You are Part of Our Safety Team

Everyone at Virginia Mason — including patients, families and friends — is a safety inspector.

Illustrations by Mark Monlux

Here are some ways you can be a

safety inspector:

Know about your care

You and your doctor should agree on exactly what will happen to you in the hospital.

Know who will be taking care of you. Know how long a treatment or procedure

will last. Know how you should expect to feel after a

treatment or procedure.

Pay attention

Watch what is happening in the room around you.

Know what is happening to you. If you don’t know, ask. If you still don’t understand, please ask again.

Enlist friends and family

Encourage a trusted family member or friend to stay with you as your “health care partner,” especially if you feel the need for extra support or advice.

Ask your health care partner to be your “eyes and ears” — to know everything that is happening to you and why.

Ask your health care partner to speak up if something seems strange.

Make sure your health care partner knows how you feel about resuscitation and life support.

Speak up

Voice questions or concerns. Don’t be embarrassed to point out something

that seems wrong.

Check for ID badges

Look for ID badges — every staff member must wear one.

Don’t let anyone care for you who is not wearing a badge.

Make sure staff wash their hands

All staff are required to wash their hands. They must wash their hands before and

after everything they do. If they don’t, please ask them to do so.

Make sure you are the right patient

Staff must identify you before they provide care to you.

They must use two methods of identification every time.

If your caregiver does not use two methods please remind them to do so.

Know your medications

Ask about the reason for all of your medications.

If a pill looks unfamiliar to you don’t take it unless you know what it is.

Get written information about your prescriptions, and read it.

Make sure you can read your doctor’s writing on your prescriptions.

Our Commitment to Patient Safety

Patient safety is Virginia Mason’s top priority. We understand that to provide the best care, our care also needs to be the safest.

In addition to participating in a national patient safety initiative with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Virginia Mason is one of a group of leading hospitals nationwide joining with the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) as part of its Stand Up for Patient Safety program. Gary S. Kaplan, MD, Chairman and CEO of Virginia Mason, serves on the board of directors of the NPSF, founded in 1996 by the American Medical Association and other influential organizations.

We welcome feedback about your experience as a patient at Virginia Mason. Please share it with a member of your care team or ask to speak with the manager of your team. You may also send comments via e-mail to emailvm@vmmc.org, or call the Patient Relations and Service Department at (206) 223-6616, or our Chairman and CEO, Gary S. Kaplan, MD, at (206) 223-6955.

Thank you for choosing Virginia Mason as your health care provider and for helping us in our efforts to keep you safe and provide you with the best health care available.

For more information about our patient safety efforts, visit our Web site at VirginiaMason.org

Virginia Mason Medical Center1100 Ninth Avenue

Seattle, Washington 98101

Patient Relations and Service Department (206) 223-6616

emailvm@vmmc.org

© 2005-2008 Virginia Mason Medical Center (20M)

Form #901546