At Lexington Health, patient safety is one of our highest priorities. Everyone has a role in keeping patients safe. This includes our board of directors, administrators, doctors, nurses and other team members.

Our goal is zero preventable harm. This means we work every day to prevent injuries and other harm that can be avoided.

We know that safe care takes teamwork. It also takes strong systems, open communication and a willingness to learn and improve.

Our Leaders Put Safety First

Patient safety starts with our leaders.

Our board of directors and health system leaders regularly review patient safety results. They look at where we are doing well and where we need to improve.

We use safety information to set goals and guide our work. We also make sure our teams have the tools and support they need to provide safe care.

Safety Is Part of How We Work

Patient safety is built into the way we care for patients every day.

We set safety goals and track our results. We look for areas where care can be safer. We also look at whether some groups of patients have different outcomes so we can better meet the needs of everyone we serve.

We are committed to a just culture. This means we want team members to speak up when they see a safety concern or unsafe condition so we can improve processes that may cause harm.

Our team members receive patient safety training based on their jobs and responsibilities.

We Learn and Improve

We believe safer care comes from listening, learning and improving.

We ask our team members about our culture of safety and use their feedback to make care safer.

When a safety event happens, we look closely at what happened and why. We look for changes that can help prevent the same problem in the future.

We also track important safety measures. These may include:

• infections 
• patient falls
• pressure injuries
• medication safety
• surgery and procedure safety
• other types of preventable harm

We compare our results with national safety measures when available. This helps us understand how we are doing and where we can improve.

We also use proven safety practices to improve teamwork, communication and care. We learn from other hospitals and patient safety groups and bring helpful practices back to Lexington Health.

Patients and Families Are Part of the Care Team

Patients and families are important members of the care team.

We want patients and families to ask questions, take part in decisions and speak up if something does not seem right.

Patients can use our patient portal to review their health information. They can also ask questions and tell us if they believe something in their health record needs to be corrected.

We also welcome the involvement of family members and other people chosen by the patient when it is safe and appropriate. This may include taking part in bedside conversations, care planning, discharge planning and visits.

We value feedback from patients and families because their experiences help us improve care.

Our Promise

Patient safety is not one program or one project. It is part of everything we do.

We will continue to listen, learn, measure our results and improve.

Our goal is zero preventable harm. Every member of the Lexington Health team has a part in reaching that goal.