Kanabec Hospital earns patient safety excellence award

June 2009

Kanabec Hospital has earned a Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) Patient Safety Excellence Award for its work in preventing retained objects such as sponges during labor and delivery. This fourth patient safety award for Kanabec Hospital makes it one of a small group of hospitals to receive awards in all of the Call to Action campaign safety measures.

Patient safety is a top priority for Kanabec Hospital and other Minnesota hospitals. That’s why Kanabec Hospital joined the SAFE COUNT initiative, where Minnesota teams are working collectively to implement an extensive list of recommended actions to prevent sponges or other objects from being retained in a patient after giving birth.

The MHA Patient Safety Excellence Award is given to facilities that have achieved more than 90 percent of the recommended actions. “Hospitals that receive these awards are to be commended — the bar is set very high,” said MHA Patient Safety Vice President Tania Daniels. “Hospitals that qualify have achieved measurable and meaningful progress toward implementing best practices to drive down adverse health events.” 

“Kanabec Hospital is committed to patient safety at every level” says CEO Randy Ulseth, “it is because of the hard work and dedication of our staff that we are able to provide such an outstanding quality of healthcare in our community.”