Infection Prevention Coordinator Nancy Lumley from Self Regional Healthcare is presented a Zero Harm Award from the South Carolina Hospital Association’s Dr. Rick Foster at a recent meeting in Columbia.
(Greenwood, S.C., April 22, 2014) – The South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA) today announced that Self Regional Healthcare is a recipient of the South Carolina “Certified Zero Harm Award,” to recognize excellent performance in patient safety.
Certified Zero Harm Awards are given when a hospital records no preventable hospital-acquired infections of a specific nature during a certain period of time. The data is then independently verified by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). The awards are presented at statewide SCHA meetings twice each year.
Self Regional was recognized for achieving no surgical site infections for the health system’s hip replacement surgeries over a 12-month period. The South Carolina Hospital Association presented the award to Nancy Lumley, Infection Prevention Coordinator for Self Regional Healthcare.
“We have worked diligently as a team to create a culture of safety at Self Regional, and have implemented the Safe Surgery checklist before any procedure is done,” said Lumley. “From 2012 to 2013, our efforts have really paid off—we were able to cut our infection rate in half.”
The award is part of the association’s efforts to guide and support the state’s hospitals in creating and sustaining highly reliable health care – meaning patient care that is dependable, high quality and safe over a long period of time, similar to the consistent results achieved by other high-consequence industries such as aviation and nuclear power.
“We feel that publicly celebrating hospitals that have reached the milestone of zero infections within a given time frame is a crucial part of our collective journey to highly reliable health care,” said Rick Foster, MD, senior vice president for Quality and Patient Safety, South Carolina Hospital Association.
For more information on the SCHA Certified Zero Harm Award please contact Rick Foster, MD, senior vice president for quality and patient safety, South Carolina Hospital Association, at 803.744.3538 or rfoster@scha.org. For media inquiries please contact Amanda Brasier at (864) 725-4218.
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About Self Regional Healthcare
Self Regional Healthcare is a not-for-profit, regional referral hospital that provides care to residents of Greenwood, Abbeville, Laurens, Saluda, McCormick, Edgefield and Newberry counties. Services include prevention and wellness, acute care and tertiary care services including cancer care, neurosurgery, heart and vascular surgery, NICU and orthopedics. Self Medical Group is its employed physician affiliate network of 20 practices and more than 60 physicians.
About the South Carolina Hospital Association
Founded in 1921, the South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA) is the leadership organization and principal advocate for the state’s hospitals and healthcare systems. Based in Columbia, SCHA works with its members to improve access, quality, and cost-effectiveness of health care for all South Carolinians. The state’s hospitals and healthcare systems employ more than 70,000 persons statewide. Learn more about SCHA at www.scha.org.
