Rush Archives Blog

From the Rush Archives: Commemorating World Patient Safety Day, Sept. 17

-Post contributed by Rush Archives Work Study Student Kirsten Petrarca, Doctoral Student in Audiology, Rush University.

Today is the second annual World Patient Safety Day! In 2019, the World Health Assembly adopted the resolution WHA 72.6, “Global Action on Patient Safety,” which included the establishment of World Patient Safety Day.

Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) is committed to patient safety and has been for a long time! In 2008, RUMC’s Annual Report highlighted their commitment to improving quality and safety for patients.

CAPTION: The theme for Rush's 2008 Annual Report was "Quality at Rush," focusing on efforts to maximize patient safety.  [1]

Rush University Medical Center continues to earn top rankings in quality of care and patient safety. Learn more about  2019's rankings here: "Rush University Medical Center Ranked No. 1 for Quality of Care."

From the 2008 Annual Report of RUMC:

...Last year Rush took its efforts a step further by creating the Department of Patient Safety and Clinical Effectiveness, the singular focus of which is making sure Rush provides the safest, most effective care available anywhere... 

...Under the leadership of David Ansell, MD, MPH, chief medical officer, the department is staffed by Raj Behai, MD, MPH (RMC 1995), senior patient safety officer and associate chief medical officer; Susan Huerta, MS, RN, associate vice president of patient safety; and Marcia Hargreaves, MS, director of quality improvement. Together, these experts analyze patient data to identify opportunities for quality improvement across clinical programs and then give physician patient safety officers, nursing leaders and clinical pharmacists throughout Rush the training and resources to implement best practices...

...The University HealthSystem Consortium estimates that if an average-performing hospital made the improvements necessary to become a top-performing hospital like Rush, it would save more than 135 lives each year. Through continuous improvements in areas like medication safety, caregiver communication and hospital-acquired infections, Rush plans to further improve on its already outstanding record of observed-to-expected mortality... 

Explore the 2008 Annual Report to learn more: https://archive.org/details/RushAnnualReport2008/mode/1up

Rush Annual Reports feature news highlights and fantastic photographs. Explore them here: LINK

Want to learn more about the history of Rush or the Rush Archives collections? Explore the Rush Archives website, or contact the archivist, Nathalie Wheaton, MSLS.

All documents and photographs belong to the records collections of Rush University Medical Center Archives, Chicago, Ill. Contact the archivist for permissions and full citations.