Trailblazer leads SHN implementation at Lakeridge Health Corporation
Annette Down calls being a Trailblazer a ‘rewarding experience’
Monday June 29, 2009 -- Jason Thompson
Since becoming a member of the Ontario Trailblazers in November 2007, Annette Down, leader of risk management and patient safety with Lakeridge Health Corporation, says the organization has been able to successfully implement three of the Safer Healthcare Now (SHN) interventions.

“The idea was to have one person acting as a resource for the team who could provide coaching and mentoring,” says Down, who used to work at another organization where SHN interventions were implemented, “so I knew it could work.”

When Down brought the Trailblazer Program to the attention of senior management at Lakeridge, she says they agreed it would be beneficial to their patient safety and quality improvement efforts, which Down is proud to report that it is.

For example, when mandatory patient safety indicator reporting began in April for surgical site infections, one of the SHN interventions, Lakeridge was hitting its targets for timely antibiotic administration 100 per cent of the time.

“We were cited as one of the best because our performance was as good as it was,” Down says. “That was really rewarding from my perspective because we’d been enrolled in this since June 2008.”

One of the changes made to the Trailblazer Program this year is that returning Trailblazers, such as Down, are invited to take part in the Trailblazer Alumni program, which offers participants new content and increased opportunities for learning and networking.

“We know that the network is alive and well out there, we just wanted to support it a bit more formally by having an alumni program,” says Clara Ballantine, safety and improvement advisor with the Quality Healthcare Network (QHN).

“We have a good range of experience among our alumni so we don’t want to lose that.”

Down sees her role as a Trailblazer Alumni as a continuation of her involvement in the network. She is also acting as a mentor for rookie Trailblazers and was one of two alumni to speak at a recent trailblazer workshop in Orillia.

“It’s a very rewarding experience. You meet lots of great people (and) it’s great to interact with front-line staff,” Down says.

“People who take on this role want to see improvement to patient safety because they know it can work.”

Since 2006, more than 50 healthcare professionals have signed on to become Ontario Trailblazers. The program is sponsored by 3M Canada.

Visit www.qhn.ca for more information on the Ontario Trailblazers.

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