Tampa General is the first academic medical center in the United States to receive these prestigious safety qualifications which validate that an organization has established programs and teams focused on identifying, understanding and managing risk.
March 2, 2023 – Tampa General Hospital announced today that it has received two key qualifications from an international accreditation organization as part of its journey to becoming the first academic medical center and Level I trauma center in the country to achieve certification[1] as a Collaborative High Reliability Organization®.
DNV, a global independent certification, assurance and risk management provider, has awarded Tampa General — the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine — qualifications for its Collaborative Just Culture Program® and High Reliability Management Team™.
The two qualifications are critical steps forward on Tampa General’s path toward becoming a certified Collaborative High Reliability Organization. Organizations across a range of industries — from airlines to major utility companies — often pursue certification to become a Collaborative High Reliability Organization in order to achieve internationally recognized best practice standards in safety for their customers and teams, and to empower employees to feel safe in identifying and reporting potential risks before a problem occurs.
“As a leading academic medical center dedicated to fostering the safest possible environment for team members, physicians, patients and families, we continuously seek opportunities to improve our processes, decrease our risks and enhance the overall safety of our organization,” said John Couris, president, and CEO of Tampa General Hospital. “A critical step in this work is implementing best-practice standards and becoming a certified Collaborative High Reliability Organization.”
“We are proud that once certified, Tampa General will be the first large academic medical center to receive this distinction — setting us apart, as a national leader in providing the safest and highest quality care to our community, region, state and beyond,” Couris added.
Collaborative Just Culture fosters a culture of safety and trust across an organization through processes, and programs. High Reliability Management refers to a consistent level of excellence in quality and safety in an organization. A Collaborative High Reliability Organization demonstrates sustainable, predictable organizational reliability.
“Achieving Collaborative High Reliability Organization status will have a direct, positive impact on Tampa General patients and team members, and we are proud of this progress and important step forward in our journey for this major certification,” said Dr. Peggy Duggan, executive vice president and chief medical officer, Tampa General. “Building a culture of safety and trust is not only part of our vison at Tampa General, but also vital to our continuous improvement goal of further enhancing patient safety.”
Following the qualifications that Tampa General has just received, the process for achieving Collaborative High Reliability Organization status is rigorous and takes about two years.
“Achieving qualification demonstrates a commitment to excellence and demonstrates to your community a real commitment to providing highly reliable care,” said Kelly Proctor, president of DNV Healthcare USA Inc. DNV conducted an extensive audit prior to awarding the two qualifications. The Collaborative Just Culture Program® identifies organizations that foster a culture of safety and trust by balancing accountability between individuals and the organization through evidence-based processes, tools, and systems.
The Reliability Management Team qualification identifies Tampa General as building an internal team of high-reliability experts who are collaboratively developing a clear purpose, goals, and a reliability plan for the organization. The Reliability Management Team will play an important role moving forward, as it includes internal experts who will help Tampa General achieve its goal of becoming a Collaborative High Reliability Organization.
SG Collaborative Solutions’ (which authored the Collaborative Just Culture and High Reliability models) president Scott Griffith says, “the two qualifications – Collaborative Just Culture Program and High Reliability Management Team – validate that an organization has built an infrastructure focused on workplace justice and collaboration and is committed to those attributes central to becoming a highly reliable organization such as safety, customer service, equity, privacy, quality, financial responsibility, and operational integrity.”
ABOUT DNV
DNV is a global independent certification, assurance, and risk management provider, operating in more than 100 countries. Through its broad experience and deep expertise, DNV advances safety and sustainable performance, sets industry benchmarks, drives innovative solutions.
Whether certifying a company’s management system or products, accrediting hospitals, providing training, assessing supply chains or digital assets, DNV enables customers and stakeholders to make critical decisions with confidence, continually improve and realize long-term strategic goals sustainably.
DNV draws on its wide technical and industry expertise to help companies worldwide build consumer and stakeholder trust. Driven by its purpose, to safeguard life, property, and the environment, DNV helps tackle the challenges and global transformations facing its customers and the world today and is a trusted voice for many of the world’s most successful and forward-thinking companies. For more information, visit www.dnvcert.com/healthcare.
ABOUT SG COLLABORATIVE SOLUTIONS
SG Collaborative Solutions, LLC an enterprise risk management firm specializing in reliable performance in high-consequence industries and organizations. We are the authors of the Collaborative High Reliability ® and Collaborative Just Culture ® models of proficiency-based, socio-technical improvement. For more information, visit www.sgcpartners.com.
ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL
Tampa General Hospital, a 1,040-bed, not-for-profit, academic medical center, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region’s only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News & World Report’s 2022-23 Best Hospitals, and is tied as the third highest-ranked hospital in Florida, with seven specialties ranking among the best programs in the United States. Tampa General Hospital has been designated as a model of excellence by the 2022 Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list. The academic medical center’s commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious Forbes magazine rankings – first nationally in the 2022 America’s Best Employers for Women and sixth out of 100 Florida companies in the 2022 America’s Best Employers by State. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2021, provided a net community benefit worth more than $224.5 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education, and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It is one of the nation’s busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With six medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital’s footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Brandon Healthplex, TGH Virtual Health, and 21 TGH Imaging powered by Tower outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org). As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that provides real-time situational awareness to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.
[1] Collaborative High Reliability® and Collaborative Just Culture ® are registered trademarks of SG Collaborative Solutions, LLC. DNV is licensed to be an independent auditor of the SG Collaborative Solutions’ universal model and taxonomy. DNV is the first company globally to offer Collaborative High Reliability® Qualification and Certification programs, providing independent third-party validation that programs, teams, and organizations meet the SG Collaborative Solutions’ Collaborative High Reliability® standards.
