1 in 4
A patient has a 1 in 4 chance of experiencing injury, harm or death when admitted to a hospital.
440,000
As many as 440,000 people die every year in the U.S. from hospital errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.
1.3 Million
There are 1.3 million annual injuries in the U.S. from medication errors.
+1,000
Today alone, more than 1,000 people will die in the U.S. because of a preventable hospital error.
1 in 4
A patient has a 1 in 4 chance of experiencing injury, harm or death when admitted to a hospital.
440,000
As many as 440,000 people die every year in the U.S. from hospital errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.
1.3 Million
There are 1.3 million annual injuries in the U.S. from medication errors.
+1,000
Today alone, more than 1,000 people will die in the U.S. because of a preventable hospital error.
Why Are We Speaking Up?
We speak up because we are building a culture of CARE.
All Jackson employees are patient advocates who care about safety. If you see something wrong—or if you’re just not sure it’s right—speak up. It is not just expected of you; it’s the right thing to do. Every employee should be able to speak up without judgment or fear of retaliation.
We Know That Mistakes Happen.
Our goal in always speaking up is to learn from our mistakes, which, in turn, will lead to improved:
Medical Error and Near Miss Reporting
Sense of Trust
Learning
Employee Morale
Staff & Patient Satisfaction
Quality Patient Outcomes
How Do I Speak Up?
The first step in resolving any issue should be to speak with your teammate or co-worker involved in the situation at hand, followed by your supervisor. If the issue isn’t resolved, escalate it.
Workplace Culture
For issues related to the workplace, or if you feel like you are not being treated fairly, contact Jackson’s Human Resources department at:
Call 305-585-5483
Clinical or Quality
For clinical or quality matters, file a report in the safety event reporting system on the JetPortal, Jackson’s Intranet.
Suspicion of Fraud
For issues related to business practices or fraud, contact Jackson’s Corporate Integrity Hotline at:
1-800-684-6457How Is Speaking Up Part of CARE?
Since we are all patient advocates and guardians of the public trust, we all need to feel safe speaking up whenever something doesn’t seem right. Teammates who speak up about patient care, business practices, or treatment in the workplace deserve to be treated with compassion, accountability, respect, and expertise.
Speaking up feeds each of those core values, too. As a learning organization, we need to use every near miss and adverse event to improve our processes and evolve our procedures, not to punish people who bring those issues to light. Teammates who speak up make Jackson a more compassionate, accountable, respectful, and expert organization.
Be a Role Model
Be an active participant in conversations in your work environment, both with your leader and your colleagues.
Psychological Safety
We want you to share ideas, give input, and ask questions – but first, you need to feel comfortable doing so.
- Anyone can ask questions without the fear of being judged.
- Anyone can ask for feedback without the fear of looking incompetent.
- Anyone can be respectfully critical without the fear of appearing negative.
- Anyone can suggest innovative ideas without the fear of being perceived as disruptive.
Communicate & Build Teamwork
Teamwork, collaboration, communication, and conflict resolution lead to a more supportive environment for speaking up.
How Is Speaking Up Part of CARE?
Since we are all patient advocates and guardians of the public trust, we all need to feel safe speaking up whenever something doesn’t seem right. Teammates who speak up about patient care, business practices, or treatment in the workplace deserve to be treated with compassion, accountability, respect, and expertise.
Speaking up feeds each of those core values, too. As a learning organization, we need to use every near miss and adverse event to improve our processes and evolve our procedures, not to punish people who bring those issues to light. Teammates who speak up make Jackson a more compassionate, accountable, respectful, and expert organization.
Be a Role Model
Be an active participant in conversations in your work environment, both with your leader and your colleagues.
Psychological Safety
We want you to share ideas, give input, and ask questions – but first, you need to feel comfortable doing so.
- Anyone can ask questions without the fear of being judged.
- Anyone can ask for feedback without the fear of looking incompetent.
- Anyone can be respectfully critical without the fear of appearing negative.
- Anyone can suggest innovative ideas without the fear of being perceived as disruptive.
Communicate & Build Teamwork
Teamwork, collaboration, communication, and conflict resolution lead to a more supportive environment for speaking up.
What Is The “Just Culture” Model?
In an organization that follows a just culture model, people aren’t blamed for mistakes that were caused by our care processes, workflows, or systems. Instead, we learn from these events and work to change the system to prevent the same event from happening again.
This is a journey we’re constantly pursuing, a model in which we are constantly striving to get better and move forward. It takes time – time to demonstrate what this means, and time to build trust within our teams and the entire organization. Small displays of respect and appropriate responses to reported events that are not punitive in nature go a long way in building a just culture model. It will not work every time, for every person, every day. But we are committed to building and practicing within this model at Jackson.
“Our goal is for all of our employees – caregivers, ancillary staff, and business professionals – to feel empowered to speak up by creating a climate of learning and trust.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Accordion
Just Culture refers to a system of shared accountability in which organizations are accountable for the systems they have designed and for responding to the behaviors of their employees in a fair and judicious manner. Employees are responsible for the quality of the choices they make within the system the organization has designed.
While Just Culture is often associated with safety incidents and errors in high-risk industries, the same principles are applied to general workplace behavior and any types of policy or procedure violations.
Just Culture is a model that focuses on how we asses risk, opportunities to improve our systems, and the behavioral choices within those systems to produce better outcomes. Put plainly, we don’t look at what the final outcome of the event was, we look at the systems and behaviors so we can create predictability around what errors may occur in the future.
By creating a just culture, employees feel safe to raise their hand when they witness a mistake or make a mistake knowing that reporting will not result in automatic punishment, but that uncovering the source of the error will only help improve our care delivery systems.
The algorithm is a systematic process we use to assess the quality of the choices employees make within the systems the organization has designed.
The quality of your choices can be classified into three behaviors: (1) human error, (2) at-risk behavior, or (3) reckless behavior. In this model (and at Jackson Health System) there is zero tolerance for reckless behavior, behavior in which you disregard a substantial and unjustifiable risk. We understand that humans make errors and there will be times where we don’t recognize the risk in our decision or misinterpret the risk. In those cases, we’ll coach you on how to better assess risk and work on designing systems that support you in making better choices moving forward.
Once an incident is reported, we follow a structured process that involves a thorough investigation by Risk and/or Human Resources. This investigation aims to understand the root causes of the incident, whether it is as a result of a system or procedural error, and distinguishing between human error, at-risk behavior, and reckless behavior. During the investigation, we may reach out to get additional details or perspective so we can gain a comprehensive understanding of the incident. This involvement helps in crafting effective solutions and improvements.
Transparency is a key principle in a Just Culture. In most cases, we communicate the outcomes of incident investigations to employees, sharing lessons learned, improvements made, and the actions taken to prevent similar incidents. This fosters a culture of openness and continuous improvement.
In a Just Culture, accountability is determined based on the nature and context of the actions. Honest mistakes and actions resulting from system failures may lead to a focus on learning and process improvement, while intentional or reckless actions may lead to appropriate action. The focus is on fair consequences that address the individual’s actions while considering the organizational context and systemic factors contributing to the incident.
After an incident, a Just Culture emphasizes a learning-oriented approach. Organizations conduct debriefs and analyses to identify systemic issues and implement corrective actions. The goal is to prevent similar incidents in the future and continuously improve processes.
In a Just Culture, there is an emphasis on supporting employees involved in incidents. This support may include counseling, training, or additional resources to ensure that individuals have the tools and knowledge needed to perform their roles safely.
Yes, Just Culture organizations prioritize protection against retaliation for employees who report incidents. Confidential reporting mechanisms, non-punitive responses to honest mistakes, and a culture of trust contribute to creating an environment where employees feel safe reporting without fear of reprisal.
By focusing on learning, improvement, and fair accountability, a Just Culture contributes to organizational resilience. It ensures that the organization adapts and evolves in response to incidents, becoming more robust and better equipped to handle challenges in the future.