Three-year Grant Received from AHRQ for Further Development of Patient Safety Research and Tools
A new research report from The Center for Health Design, (CHD), with support from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, (AHRQ), and the Facility Guidelines Institute, (FGI), finds that it is essential to focus on patient safety during the facility pre-design phase, as decisions made during this time affect all key decisions made later in the project. Titled, “Designing for Patient Safety: Developing Methods to Integrate Patient Safety Concerns in the Design Process,” this report is the first part of a patient safety risk assessment tool kit that will be developed over the next three years.
CHD recently received a three-year grant from AHRQ to further define and produce practical resources for design practitioners to use as tools to integrate patient safety into the various phases of facility design. FGI is also committed to supporting this work over the next three years. Other key partners for this work include MedStar Institute for Innovation (MI2), Kaiser Permanente and the Innovation Learning Network (ILN). Findings from this project will be disseminated at the 2015 ASHE PDC conference.
“We are looking forward to continuing this work with AHRQ and FGI over the next three years, creating a comprehensive tool kit that will give design professionals and healthcare administrators the information they need to make informed design decisions,” stated Anjali Joseph, Ph.D., EDAC, Vice President, Director of Research, The Center for Health Design. “This work will allow us to develop practical evidence-based tools for implementing the patient safety risk assessment included in the 2014 FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction of Healthcare Facilities.”
About The Center for Health Design
The Center for Health Design (CHD) is a nonprofit organization that engages and supports professionals and organizations in the healthcare, construction, and design industry to improve the quality of healthcare facilities and create new environments for healthy aging. CHD’s mission is to transform healthcare environments for a healthier, safer world through design research, education, and advocacy. For more information, visit www.healthdesign.org.
About the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is the health services research arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), complementing the biomedical research mission of its sister agency, the National Institutes of Health. AHRQ is a home to research centers that specialize in major areas of health care research such as quality improvement and patient safety, outcomes and effectiveness of care, clinical practice and technology assessment, and health care organization and delivery systems. It is also a major source of funding and technical assistance for health services research and research training at leading U.S. universities and other institutions, as well as a science partner, working with the public and private sectors to build the knowledge base for what works—and does not work—in health and health care and to translate this knowledge into everyday practice and policymaking.
About the Facility Guidelines Institute
The Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) is responsible for the Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities that is used as code in over 40 states by facilities, designers, and authorities for the design and construction of new and renovated health care facilities across the nation. These guidelines are updated on a four-year cycle by a group of volunteers - the Health Guidelines Revision Committee (HGRC).
Media Relations Contact:
Linda P. Franklin
(925) 521-9404 ext. 123
lfranklin [at] healthdesign [dot] org
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