Keeping Your Child Safe
Providing the best care for your child means that it needs to be the safest.
There are many ways Seattle Children's is working to make our care the best and the safest. Here are some specifics about what we are doing to improve safety.
You are an important part of our safety efforts and of the healthcare team. You know your child best. Speak up right away when you have a question or concern. Watch our Parents Make a Difference video (in Spanish, Los Padres Somos La Clave) to find out how valuable your voice is when caring for your child.
Families have given us valuable input to help improve our service and safety. Here is how you can give us your comments:
What can I do to keep my child safe during a hospital stay?
Keeping your child safe is our main priority, but we also need your help. If your child is staying in the hospital, your nurse will talk with you about what to do. You will also get specific information for the unit your child is staying in. In general, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Make sure your child wears their ID band and that you wear your parent or caregiver name badge at all times. We will check your child's ID before giving any medicine and doing any tests or procedures.
- Only Mylar (foil-type) balloons are allowed in the hospital
- We will ask you about medicines, vitamins and herbs your child is taking when you come into the hospital, and again when you leave
- Your nurse will talk with you about each medicine we give to your child
- Wash your hands or use hand-sanitizer gel each time you enter and leave your child's room. Also, wash after sneezing, coughing or blowing your nose, and after wiping your child's nose.
- If you are sick, talk with your child's nurse about how to be with your child
- Your child and family should not play with or visit other patients in their room or in the unit
- If your child has an illness others may catch, we will put them in a room by themselves. If this happens, your nurse will give you information about what to do.
- Protect your child from falls. If your child is sick, injured, taking certain medicines or getting certain treatments, their chance of falling is greater. Your nurse will talk about how to prevent falls if your child is at risk.
Call the Rapid Response Team
If you are staying in the hospital, and you notice something serious is wrong with your child, talk with your nurse right away. However, we have a Rapid Response Team that you can call if:
- You notice a serious medical change in your child and it is not being addressed
- You notice a serious medical change in your child and the medical team disagrees about what to do
What can I expect once I call the team?
- The team will respond within 5 to 10 minutes
- An Intensive Care Unit (ICU) registered nurse and respiratory therapist will respond
- Once they arrive, they will talk with you, assess your child and begin treatment. If necessary, they will call the ICU doctor.
The Leapfrog Group
Children's is working with The Leapfrog Group to improve patient safety by participating in their Hospital Quality and Safety Survey.
Leapfrog and its members work together to:
