Kellogg Safety Committee team members include, from left to right in the top row, Davonn Whitcomb, Nadine VanWassehnova, Erin Manno, Stephen Armenti, M.D., Ph.D., Alan Sugar, M.D., M.S., Christine Nelson, M.D., Philip Lieu, M.D. Bottom Row: Beth Hansemann, Jennifer Weizer, M.D., Roni Shtein, M.D., M.S., and Carol George.
In October, the Kellogg Eye Center retina clinics were the first ambulatory clinics recognized by Michigan Medicine with the 365 Days of Safety award. While so many of our clinics merit this award, Michigan Medicine recognized the special team commitment in a very busy clinical environment.
As its name implies, the award acknowledges patient care units that avoid patient harm or care-acquired conditions for at least 365 consecutive days. The retina clinic’s record far exceeds this milestone.
“It’s an especially significant achievement given our clinic volume,” says retina specialist and assistant professor Philip Lieu, M.D. “We administer more than 12,000 injections in our clinics each year.”
“A major team effort goes into a safety record like this,” says professor Jennifer Weizer, M.D. Both Drs. Lieu and Weizer, who chairs Kellogg’s Safety Committee, were part of a dedicated group that systematically reviewed and refined the retina injection protocol. They analyzed every point where a potential error could occur, even if none ever had. Because communication is critical to avoiding errors, daily team huddles have been standard for many years.
Dr. Lieu says, “All of these efforts show that when it comes to safety, we don’t take anything for granted.”