Becker's Hospital Review

18 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Tampa General Hospital CEO: Creating an environment where everyone feels safe By John Couris, President and CEO, Tampa General Hospital A s the president and CEO of a leading academic medical center, my primary respon- sibility is to balance the care and safety of our patients with the needs of my team members. Truth be told, one feeds the other — by making sure my team is supported and feels empowered to raise issues and con- cerns, admit to mistakes without fear and make recommendations for improvement, which results in patients receiving world-class care. The recent case involving a nurse in Tennessee who was convicted for accidentally administering a drug that resulted in the death of a pa- tient shines a light on the tremen- dous complexities of the delivery of healthcare. The truth is healthcare is incredibly sophisticated and highly nuanced. In fact, this industry is one of the most complex in the world. To ensure patient safety, hospitals like Tampa General, where I serve as president and CEO, establish highly orchestrated processes and proto- cols to create a safe environment for our team members and patients. We have designed a system that looks for small risks to ensure safety and efficiency. Our procedures are un- der scrutiny and are checked and rechecked. We rely not only on these measures as well as sophisticated technology to ensure safety but also on team members, including our nurses, to consistently monitor and report any issues. As such, we must share in the responsibility of their work — their actions are our actions. In a well-designed system and orga- nization — regardless of industry — the responsibility of delivering the high- est level of patient care and safety or quality of product is a balanced and fair set of systems for which both the team member and the organization are responsible for, supporting and appropriately holding each other ac- countable. This is how high-function- ing teams operate. In properly run organizations, accountability and re- sponsibility are collective and do not sit on the shoulders of any one per- son. That is why singling out the mis- take of one nurse with one patient and irrevocably altering the course of her entire life is heartbreaking, tragic and wrong. While I admit to not knowing the full nuances of the case, I did speak to colleagues and followed the case in the mainstream press. I can tell you that in my nearly 30 years in health- care, I have never personally seen a nurse prosecuted for making an error within a system that should've had the safeguards in place to pro- tect her. The mistake that occurred in this case could have easily been pre- vented. However, once a tragedy occurred, it was the organization's responsibility to stand up for its em- ployee and hold itself accountable. Nurses are true heroes and take on the most challenging jobs in health care. They do this work be- cause they care about those in their charge and see their job not simply as a profession but as a vocation. As industry leaders, we must support them and all team members when they are working tirelessly to do what is right. This case is a cautionary tale, not just about the healthcare industry but all industries. We, as leaders, must create environments rooted in psychological safety where em- ployees feel able to do their best work free from fear. The bottom line is that organizations should be spaces where everyone feels safe to express themselves, be open and honest, point out challenges and opportunities for improvement, and not be singled out for trying their best in an imperfect system. John Couris is president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital. You can fol- low him and hear more on LinkedIn. n

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