The 87th Medical Group joins nationwide effort to promote patient safety awareness Published March 2, 2012 By 87th Medical Group Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- The 87th Medical Group announced their participation in the 2012 National Patient Safety Awareness Week campaign in an effort to raise awareness and encourage the engagement of patients, families, health care providers and the public. The theme of this year's campaign is "Be Aware for Safe Care," which focuses on the need for everyone to understand the importance of patient safety and to recognize the range of efforts being made to improve health safety in the U.S. and worldwide. Patient Safety Awareness Week is scheduled for March 4 through 10 and is an annual National Patient Safety Foundation -led education and awareness campaign for healthcare safety. Each year, healthcare organizations around the world take part in the event by prominently displaying the NPSF campaign logo and promotional materials within their organizations, creating awareness in the community and deploying NPSF educational resources to hospital staff. The 87th Medical Group team will engage staff, patients and the community through educational and awareness-building activities specific to patient safety. The campaign team seeks to educate patients, providers and the public on the ways they can participate in these efforts and partner to improve patient safety. While efforts of the past decade have brought improvements, recent studies indicate that much work remains to be done and can be done most effectively through the involvement of all parties. "The more we work together to promote patient safety, the more we all benefit from a safe healthcare system," said Diane Pinakiewicz, NPSF. "NPSF encourages creative collaboration among provider groups, patient advocates and other community organizations to help patients and consumers understand how they can participate to be part of the solution." "'Be Aware for Safe Care,'" emphasizes that safety issues impact everyone. "This is a great opportunity to expound on and even personalize information that patients and providers may come into contact with because of the national patient safety campaign," said Mardi Faltz, 87th MDG patient safety manager. "Healthcare delivery organizations have a sacred obligation to their patients," said Col. James Burks, 87th MDG commander. "Every patient who walks through our doors entrusts us with his or her health and we are fully committed to earning that trust every day. Unquestionably, among our highest priorities is taking all steps to cultivate a culture of safety and continuous improvement for the patients whom we are privileged to serve." The 87th MDG's mission is to deliver mission-ready medics, a medically-ready force, patient-centered care and a healthy installation. The National Patient Safety Foundation has been pursuing one mission since its founding in 1997 - to improve the safety of care provided to patients. As a central voice for patient safety, NPSF is committed to a collaborative, inclusive, multi-stakeholder approach in all that it does. NPSF is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Visit www.npsf.org for additional information on Patient Safety Awareness Week.