National Patient Safety Awareness Week planned Published Feb. 17, 2011 By Douglas E. Pierson Public Health Flight manager HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- As a proud partner of the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), the 75th Medical Group is excited to announce its participation in Patient Safety Awareness Week during the week of March 6-12. The 75th MDG hopes this week will demonstrate its commitment to working together with its patients to provide the safest care possible. The 2011 theme for the week is: "Are You In? Commit to Safe Health Care." Some of the goals of this year's themes are to reduce re-admissions to the hospital and better understand cultural competency. Improving patient safety requires continuous learning and constant communication between caregivers, organizations, and patients. Everyone has a role in patient safety, including the patient. As a patient, NPSF suggests taking the following steps to help make your health care experience safer. Step 1: Speak up if you have questions or concerns about your health and treatment. Step 2: Keep a list of ALL of the medications you take. Step 3: Make sure you get the results of any test procedure. Step 4: Talk with your medical provider and health care team about your options if you need hospital care. Step 5: Make sure you understand what will happen if you need surgery. The 75th MDG will kick off this week with patient safety information fliers available in the front lobby of the Family Medicine Clinic. In addition, the month of March will focus on patient safety educational classes for our medical staff. For more information about patient safety, please visit the National Patient Safety Foundation website, http://www.npsf.org/.