Twin Towers Quarterly, Volume 2, Issue 1, January 1959

              EmPHHSis on
SAFETY
The last few years have indicated an ever increasing awareness of the importance of safety
in the hospital field. Providing
safe care fulfills a definite public
obligation and gains the confidence of the community. The
spotlight which formerly focused
on acccident prevention as a general topic has broadened its circle, and a detailed breakdown of
safety topics is now included. Recently hospital magazines have
featured articles on safety for
mental patients, on dangers of
radiation, on particular hazards
in the surgery area, on the use
of bedside rails, and on patient
identification.1
A growth of interest in the
formation of Safety Committees
within hospitals is another proof
of this growing awareness. Representation from every department of the hospital shows that
safety is becoming more generally
accepted as an integral part of
every aspect of hospital operation.
New products and equipment especially designed to provide a safeguard for the patient
or employee, and manufacturers
who are quick to point out
hazards and safeguards of their
products or equipment show the
interest that industry has in hospital safety.
The prominence given safety
on the agenda of recent hospital
conventions and meetings, and
the inclusion of safety factors in
all the subjects that come into
consideration at hospital meetings
are further proofs of the growing
consciousness of hospital safety.
General safety workshops and
institutes have been held with increasing frequency during the
past two years, and a tremendous
stride in the direction of fire
safety can be shown by the number of institutes held in the specific field of hospital fire safety.
Specific steps forward taken
by St. Joseph's Hospital in recent years in the sphere of safety
1—See 'Bid You Check the Identification Band?" on page 23 of this issue.