Dear Friends,

Ten years after the Institute of Medicine released its stunning estimate that between 44,000 and 98,000 patients die every year from preventable medical errors, what has changed?

Judging from research and patients' experiences in hospitals the answer is:  Not enough.

A study released in 2006 paints a grim picture, noting that medical errors remain a leading cause of death and injury in hospitals nationwide and the effort to improve patient safety "is too slow and should be a cause for alarm."  Other research estimates that two million patients contract hospital-acquired infections and some 90,000 die of those infections annually. 

And the financial costs are staggering.  According to the Midwest Business Group on Health, 30% of all direct health care costs are the result of poor quality care, amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars each year.

Even using conservative estimates, the number of preventable deaths from medical errors is the equivalent of 100 jumbo jets crashing and killing all aboard, every year, year after year. 

Despite these frightening statistics, not enough elected officials or hospital industry leaders have stepped up and aggressively pursued solutions.    

But healthcare advocates and citizen groups are taking action.  In Massachusetts, over 130 endorsing organizations have helped the Coalition to Protect Massachusetts Patients push for safe nurse staffing.  Nationally, groups - from AARP to Xerox Corporation - are working together on a project led by the National Partnership for Women and Families to ensure that patients have access to data about quality in healthcare facilities.

Now groups from across Illinois are joining together to call for safe patient care.  Citizen Action/Illinois, the Champaign County Health Care Consumers, Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, the RN2RN Network, Women Employed and AFSCME Council 31 (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) are launching the Campaign for Safe Patient Care. 

The goals of this new advocacy effort are to:

• Help Illinois residents make informed decisions when choosing a hospital by providing them with information on how to compare the quality of care in hospitals through the new IL Department of Public Health website (www.healthcarereportcard.illinois.gov) and other sources.
• Support state legislation that protects patients and ensures that they receive quality care by requiring hospitals to maintain safe nurse staffing levels at all times.
• Educate patients about their rights as well as their options for filing complaints if they get poor quality care.

Your organization can help improve patient safety and quality of care in Illinois by endorsing these goals and helping reach patients who want to communicate their experiences and concerns. 

Enclosed is an endorsement form which we hope you will sign and return by Friday, January 29, 2010.  We are also including a simple patient survey which you can share with anyone you know whose experience as a patient helps highlight quality and safety issues.  

We all pay a staggering price for medical errors - especially patients and their families.  With your support we can and will make our hospitals safer places. 

Thank you for your consideration.  Please call Jo Patton at 312/641-6060 if you have any questions.

Sincerely,


Lynda DeLaforgue
Citizen Action/Illinois

 
Claudia Lennhoff
Champaign County Health Care Consumers

Margie Schaps
Health and Medicine Policy Research Group

Kelly Beringer
RN2RN Network

Melissa Josephs
Women Employed

Jo Patton
AFSCME Council 31