Arbour-Fuller Hospital promoted its first “Safety Week” in early September, with the goal of promoting patient and environmental safety for all staff.

Staff participated in voluntary activities that ranged from shooting a fire extinguisher at laminated photos of senior and educational staff to performing room and belongings searches.

Members of the Safety Week Committee (with some help from maintenance and housekeeping) transformed the conference dining room into a patient bedroom and a make-shift nursing station. In the faux bedroom and nursing station, staff members went through a belongings bag or conducted a room search to find all the hidden contraband. If a staff successfully completed these tasks, they were entered into a raffle.

Additionally, staff was asked to do a “Safety Scavenger Hunt” to identify all unsafe items on the faux nurse’s station or give certain types of patient behaviors that could potentially be unsafe. There was also a Johnny search quiz where staff was tested on the correct procedures to perform such a search.

Along with the searches and scavenger hunt, the Education and Risk Management departments put together a variety of educational posters focusing on everything from fall prevention to medication administration.

The Policy and Procedure quiz asked staff to review certain policies; correct responders were entered into a drawing. This quiz was set up in the employee lounge, so all could participate while enjoying some refreshments provided by senior management.

Other activities included mock codes for staff to practice de-escalation techniques on their “agitated” colleagues, a CPR class for non-clinical staff, and a game of “Who Wants to be a Safety Millionaire.”

Overall the week successfully incorporated the contributions and efforts of many different departments and staff members, making it a great example of teamwork. Arbour-Fuller Hospital hopes to celebrate Safety Week next year with similar events to continue promote a safe environment for patients and staff.