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WellSpan Raises the Bar for Innovation, Collaboration on Patient Safety

WellSpan serves more than 1.5 million patients annually through a physician-led, integrated health system comprising nine hospitals, more than 250 patient care locations, and more than 2,500 physicians and advanced practice providers who strive to deliver great care and enhance quality of life across central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland.

Founded in 1880, WellSpan is a multispecialty medical group of 23,000 team members providing nationally recognized, advanced specialty care and supporting lifelong wellness by partnering closely with communities to address local health care needs.

WellSpan is continually innovating to bring advanced technologies and processes together to benefit patients and staff, reimagine health care and transform communities. Leading with compassion, WellSpan has received prestigious awards and recognition for its leadership in quality and safety improvements.

Tiered System of Safety Engages All Staff, Leading to Improved Outcomes

WellSpan prioritizes creating a safe environment for patients and team members. The system accomplishes that through daily tiered safety huddles that engage all team members, helping foster a culture of continuous improvement.

WellSpan’s tiered safety huddles are meticulously structured, enabling staff to identify problems, concerns or opportunities for improvement and then escalate issues to the appropriate levels in the hospitals or systemwide. With six tiers, everyone is involved and engaged in identifying and resolving potential safety concerns, from security and custodial staff to clinical teams, site managers, operational leaders and executive leadership.

Issues are raised and escalated through this tiered structure, creating a holistic focus on safety in which all team members are working toward the common goal of improving safety and ensuring zero harm for patients, providers and staff. Team members are encouraged to overreport rather than underreport issues, helping encourage an honest, open dialogue.

WellSpan’s safety huddle system also celebrates the safety “wins” and recognizes team members who helped raise and escalate issues. Recognizing team members for their contributions to safety improvements amplifies each team member’s efforts and ensures that their input does not go unnoticed. By involving team members in daily tiered safety huddles, WellSpan is building a more reliable system that delivers the highest quality of care and safety for everyone.

AHA cited this pioneering, measurable approach to improving safety when awarding . Implementing the tiered-huddle strategy led to a 45% decrease in serious safety events during care and a 97% increase in team members feeling empowered to report patient safety concerns.

AI Tools Elevate Patient Safety, Staff Well-being

WellSpan hospitals are harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to improve patient safety and alleviate staff burnout through a revolutionary system empowering nurses and nursing assistants to monitor patients and perform certain routine tasks virtually.

, the Artisight system uses a two-way audiovisual system to enable nurses and nursing assistants to check on and engage with patients virtually. Artisight allows for remote monitoring of patients who may be at risk for falls or who may inadvertently remove lines or tubes needed for their care. The system also allows nurses to remotely conduct discharges, admissions and patient education. A pilot program of Artisight at WellSpan Surgery & Rehabilitation Hospital showed positive results, with a 39% decrease in patient falls and a 25% improvement in nurses’ well-being.

WellSpan radiologists utilize Aidoc, which uses AI to flag patient imaging results for abnormalities that may not be noticed by the human eye. Other care providers use the DAX system that uses AI to convert conversations between providers and patients into clinical notes.

WellSpan’s creative and strategic use of technology promotes high-quality care, leveraging not just AI but information technology, telehealth, robots and customizable data-tracking dashboards. By embracing new technologies, WellSpan can address staffing challenges while improving patient care, safety and the overall care experience.