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To the members of our community:
Many of you might have read recently that a medication error occurred while
two patients were in our care in November. I regret that a mistake was
made and I am grateful that both patients have recovered. While human
errors occur in every environment, it is especially troubling when they
occur in a healthcare setting. As we did in this situation, our practice
is to investigate how something like this happened and to immediately
notify the patient and the family. We then began the work of identifying
how the error occurred and put steps in place to make sure it does not
happen again.
CaroMont Health, like every hospital, is concerned about errors. Like other
hospitals, we have processes to prevent errors, such as on-going staff
education, patient safety committees to identify potential errors and
the use of technology and software to create safeguards. This commitment
starts with the Board of Directors and continues throughout our organization.
I am also committed to ensuring that we are not defined by a mistake we
make, but rather how we respond to it. As regrettable as this event is,
we consider this an opportunity to learn from our mistakes and an opportunity
to continuously improve the quality of care that we provide. I realize
that this has been a difficult period of time for the patients and families
involved and for the many members of our workforce who have followed the
story. We all are committed to safe care for all our patients.
I am proud to be associated with over 3,800 employees, 275 volunteers and
450 members of the medical staff who are our friends, family and neighbors.
This team works tirelessly each day to provide exceptional care to our
patients and I want to publicly thank these caregivers for the important
work they do.
CaroMont Health has an unwavering commitment to provide excellent care
to the patients we serve.
Your continued support and understanding are important to us and we look
forward to working with you to improve the health status of our community.
Sincerely,
Randall L. Kelley, President and CEO