Taking your safety temperature

More than 86,000 patients who live along Southwest Florida’s waterways or within 1,200 square miles of Lee County benefit from Lee County EMS’ (LCEMS) first-rate medical services each year. This respected EMS service runs both ALS and BLS ambulances as well as an air medical program. But something is different at LCEMS – an exceptional focus on improving patient safety to support the best possible care in the safest manner for all patients.

PATIENT SAFETY BOOT CAMP While patient safety has always been a core value for LCEMS, the focus was heightened in March 2017 when Lee County hosted the Center for Patient Safety’s first EMS Patient Safety Boot Camp. This day-long interactive session helps leaders set the patient safety tone with improved communication and a non-punitive culture. LCEMS’ patient safety program focuses heavily on a just culture framework, encouraging employees to self-report errors and near misses. These reports form the basis for increased learning and improvement.