LDS Hospital Recognized for Ongoing Work to Improve Safety

LDS Hospital is one of five U.S. hospitals to receive the inaugural 5 Rings Award for its ongoing work to improve safety in its facility. The award, given by IntelliCentrics, Inc., a leader in operational security and compliance management services, recognizes hospitals that have created a culture of vigilance to make their hospitals safer places for employees and patients. Winning hospitals were selected from the more than 4,500 hospitals that use IntelliCentrics’ Reptrax credentialing service as part of their ongoing security and compliance efforts. 

“What started as a program to credential vendors evolved into an organizational effort to improve safety for everyone who comes into our hospital,” said Jim Sheets, administrator of LDS Hospital. “We realized that in order to be successful, we needed more than just data and reports. We needed to have all of our employees – physicians, clinical staff and support staff – working together as a team.”

“Hospitals have a duty to their patients to know who is entering their facilities and why they are there, both to prevent infections as well as to improve safety and security. The 5 Rings Award Program was created to help establish best practices for how hospitals can make their facilities safer,” said Mike Sheehan, CEO of IntelliCentrics. “We hope that these hospital winners will serve as role models for other hospitals as they take steps to improve safety and compliance.”

Hospitals were ranked based on: volume of visitors, percentage of visitors who complied with hospital credentialing requirements; ongoing improvement to compliance scores; steps taken to educate staff about policy enforcement; and regular communications with vendors about expectations.

“Credentialing and ensuring that visitors have the appropriate documentation is only part of the challenge,” says Sheets. “The remainder is the cultural change required by organizations to hold visitors to the same standard we hold our employees. And the end result is a safer hospital experience for everyone who visits us or works here.” 

Other recognized hospitals include:

• Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
• Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
• Ellis Hospital operated by Ellis Medicine, Schenectady, New York
• University of Cincinnati Medical Center operated by UC Health, Cincinnati, Ohio