Three clinical leaders from Indiana have been named Patient Safety Leadership Fellows by the American Hospital Association for 2010-2011. The three will participate in a year-long, professional education program looking to improve cultures of safety and reliability and to accelerate positive change in their organizations. The fellows are Pauline Arnold, executive director of quality and safety outcomes, La Porte Regional Health System; and Pranish Kantesaria, director of pharmacy, and Kimberly Ward, patient safety analyst, both of Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis.

Registration is now open for the Perinatal Hospital Summit set for Sept. 24 at the Hilton Indianapolis North. The summit will address the new Joint Commission measures related to perinatal care and the CDC national survey related to exclusive breastfeeding. The event will feature speakers from the CDC and the Joint Commission and will provide an opportunity to discuss the implications of these new standards with hospitals throughout the state. For more information, contact the Indiana Perinatal Network at 317-924-0825 or ipn@indianaperinatal.org. Click here to download a registration form.

A new scam is targeting diabetic Medicare beneficiaries. Fraudulent callers claim to be from Medicare or Med-care, to solicit personal information. The callers initially seem legitimate because they already know the beneficiary’s name, doctor and medical condition. The caller asks if the beneficiary has “the red, white and blue card,” then for the Medicare number on the card and the maiden name of the patient’s parent. In some instances, the caller also solicits the patient’s date of birth. Reports say each caller has a foreign accent and offers diabetic testing supplies, heating pads, back braces and free blood pressure testing supplies.

The IU School of Nursing and the IU School of Medicine have developed a series of online-learning modules as an introduction to the core concepts of patient safety. The interactive and self-paced learning courses are free and can be used as a resource for front-line staff. Courses include: Hand Washing, Understanding Error, and Communication Concepts. The courses can be accessed at: http://faculty.medicine.iu.edu/patientSafety. A link has also been posted to the Indiana Patient Safety Center website under resources.

Wishard Health Services, Indianapolis, and Ascension Health System, St. Louis, Mo., have been awarded grants from the Department of Health and Human Services to support efforts to implement and evaluate patient safety approaches and medical liability reforms. The demonstration and planning grants will help the health care organizations test models that reduce preventable injuries; foster better communication between doctors and patients; ensure that patients are compensated in a fair and timely manner for medical injuries; and reduce liability premiums.

IHA has issued a call for presentations and storyboards for its Annual Meeting set for Oct. 25-27 in Indianapolis. IHA members, corporate sponsors, and affiliated societies are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to showcase stories of merit during the first day of the annual meeting.
Presentations should provide best practices in patient safety and service excellence. Business case and cost-savings measures are strongly encouraged. Selected presentations will be offered during a 75-minute breakout session. Proposals are due by July 2.

Storyboards should focus on innovative programs, patient safety projects, community benefit initiatives, and research. Selected storyboards will be on display during a Storyboard and Networking Luncheon. Proposals are due by July 18.
Application materials can be found at: www.ihaconnect.org/Education/IHAAnnualMeeting.

Contact Cathleen Armold at carmold@ihaconnect.org for more information.

The Food and Drug Administration today alerted hospitals and others not to use certain surgical mesh products that have been identified as counterfeit and are not sterile, although labeled as so. The counterfeit mesh, which has been recalled, may increase the risk of infection if implanted in a patient and may not meet other specifications of the authentic product, the FDA said. The mesh is labeled with the C.R. Bard/Davol brand name, but was not made by Bard. RAM Medical sold the counterfeit products to six distributors, who distributed them to hospitals or possibly other distributors. For more information, see the FDA notice.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported an 18 percent decline in central-line associated bloodstream infections in the first six months of 2009 compared to the previous three years. The report is based on data from 17 states reporting to the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network and provides state and national summary statistics for CLABSI as a reference point for evaluating prevention efforts. The CDC has said it will continue to report the infection ratios as a measure of progress toward the Department of Health and Human Services' Action Plan to Reduce HAIs and to gauge the impact of federal funding to states for HAI prevention.

The Food and Drug Administration has alerted health professionals not to use certain intravenous drug products due to potential contamination. The agency has received reports of floating matter in IV bags containing the drugs metronidazole, ondansetron, and ciprofloxacin. The matter in one of the bags was identified as a cladosporium mold, which can cause infection in susceptible patients. The FDA has said that health professionals should immediately remove these IV bags from their pharmacy inventories. The agency is not aware of any injuries to date, but patients who have received these products should be observed for signs of illness and treated appropriately.

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices will survey U.S. hospitals on their medication safety practices. ISMP will partner with the Health Research and Educational Trust and the AHA to administer the self-assessment survey. The 2010 survey will launch this fall and will document hospitals' progress over the past five years. The self assessments are designed to provide health care organizations with a way to evaluate their medication safety practices, identify opportunities for improvement, and compare their experiences over time with similar organizations.