In a sentinel event alert released last week, the Joint Commission encouraged healthcare leaders to foster a culture of safety within their facilities.

To make safety a priority, the alert recommended that the leadership at hospitals and ASCs adhere to 11 Tenets of a Safety Culture. Some of the recommendations included:

• Taking a transparent and nonpunitive approach to reporting and learning from adverse events, close calls and unsafe conditions

• Championing efforts to eradicate intimidating behaviors from those in leadership roles

• Recognizing care team members who offer good suggestions for improving safety

• Proactively assessing strengths and vulnerabilities of existing safety protocols and making improvements a priority

Highlighting the importance of a leader’s role in protecting the safety of patients, employees and visitors, the Joint Commission reminded healthcare leaders that, “Competent and thoughtful leaders contribute to improvements in safety and organizational culture. They understand that systemic flaws exist and each step in a care process has the potential for failure simply because humans make mistakes.”

To review all 11 safety tenets, read the complete alert here.