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Hospitals and libraries collaborate for patient safety

Patient Safety Monitor Alert, February 17, 2005

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Partnering for Patient Empowerment Through Community Awareness (PPECA), a hospital-library collaborative program, launched on February 15 at Galter Health Sciences Library of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, according to eMediaWire.

The program aims to pair hospitals and libraries to increase awareness among consumers about patient safety and the roles of consumers as partners in their own care and that of their loved ones.

To test the model, five northern Illinois hospitals are joining with local libraries to offer a 90-minute adult education presentation featuring experts and consumers. The sessions will include four presentations on:

• the consumer's role in working with healthcare providers to manage risk of avoidable patient injury
• patient-centered and systems-based approaches to patient safety
• safe medication use
• effective medical information gathering

"Public libraries have a history of providing educational programs on topics of interest to their communities," says Linda Walton, associate director of Galter Health Sciences Library and PPECA principal investigator. "Many people feel more comfortable in a public library environment than in a hospital setting for learning."

"Patients and their families are part of the healthcare system," says Roxanne J. Goeltz, president of Consumers Advancing Patient Safety. "Yet, there are few organized efforts to increase the public's awareness and knowledge about their role in improving safety."

Learn more about PPECA at www.galter.northwestern.edu/ppeca.

To read the eMediaWire press release, click here.

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