Patient Safety Awareness Week 2022 at UCSF Radiology

This post was authored by Cynthia Hammond, MBA – Quality and Safety Officer at UCSF Health, Radiology. 

My theme for this last year was “There is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it” by award winning American poet Amanda Gorman. Over the past 12 months, our department addressed many COVID-19 related safety challenges that tested our patience, resilience and fortitude. Through it all our clinical teams were brave enough to be the best imaging professionals in the Bay Area.

Administrative staff, technologists and nurses followed newly created workflows to keep the waiting, dressing and exam rooms clean and safe. We put in additional safety measures to decrease staff and patient injuries as well as COVID-19 infections. It was a massive task, but everyone worked together to achieve safety goals. Patients noticed and expressed appreciation for all that was done to provide a safe environment at UCSF Health - Radiology. Our efforts allowed us to achieve the highest level of UCSF Health safety compliance, a rating that included excellent scores in Safe Patient Handling and Fit Testing.

I applaud our clinical and administrative staff for their professionalism. The dedication, respect, compassion, and courtesy you showed to our patients was extremely courageous at a time when you were also concerned for your own families and friends. Thank you to our teams for coming to work every day ready to create an environment of safety and to provide excellent care for our patients.