A recently released report from the CT Department of Public Health (DPH) that provides information about adverse events at the state’s hospital and outpatient surgical facilities shows that there were zero adverse events for patients at Day Kimball Hospital (DKH) in 2018. Among the 28 acute care hospitals in Connecticut, DKH was the only one to report zero adverse events that year. This also marks the second consecutive year that DKH has attained this achievement; it was one of three hospitals in the state with zero adverse events in 2017.

This report, DPH’s Adverse Event Reporting document, covers all adverse events reported in 2018. An adverse event is a reportable incident that caused harm to a patient, such as bed sores, falls, perforations or errors occurring during surgery, and other events. DPH releases this report annually.

“At Day Kimball, we take very seriously the trust our community places in us, and commit to continuously improving patient-centered quality and safety,” said DKH Interim President, Joseph Adiletta. “This has allowed our hospital to be the only one in the state to achieve zero adverse events this year.”

Hospitals and outpatient surgical facilities are required to report adverse events to DPH using the National Quality Forum list of Serious Reportable Events in Healthcare, plus additional events as defined by DPH. According to DPH, items on the list are of concern to both the public and healthcare professionals, are clearly identifiable and measurable, and are often, though not always, preventable.

“We work diligently to promote patient safety and eliminate preventable patient harm by striving to surpass established national standards,” said DKH Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs and Quality, John Graham, MD. “This significant achievement represents the concerted effort on the part of everyone on our hospital staff in what is an ongoing process of quality monitoring and performance improvement.”

Day Kimball Hospital is a member of the Connecticut Hospital Association’s Patient Safety Organization and actively participates in the statewide high reliability collaborative to reduce patient harm across the state.

DKH has committed to serve as a champion trainer for Connecticut’s “Safety Starts with Me.” “This initiative is dedicated to sharpening our focus to create a culture of safety – adopting and ingraining shared values and beliefs about how we act and interact – so that we can make our organization an even safer place with fewer human errors and fewer events of harm,” said Adiletta.

The Adverse Event Reporting document is just one of several reports produced by DPH as part of the state’s Quality in Health Care program, which was developed to measure the clinical performance of health care facilities and to develop systems for those facilities to share best practices. To learn more about the Quality in Health Care program and the Adverse Event Reporting document, visit www.ct.gov/dph. 

Areas of Related Interest

Quality & Patient Safety at Day Kimball Healthcare