KCON to host documentary, panel discussions about patient safety

Following heart disease and cancer, medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in the U.S.

Cynthia McCurren, dean of the Kirkhof College of Nursing, put it another way: the third leading cause of death in the U.S. is its own health care system. 

To raise awareness of patient safety, particularly among emerging nursing and health professionals, KCON will host the first West Michigan screening of a new documentary, "To Err is Human," followed by panel discussions in two locations for specific populations on Tuesday, September 25, from 6:15-8:30 p.m. The events are free and open to the public.

• KCON alumni and community members: L. William Seidman Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus. A reception will precede the event at 5:30 p.m. RSVP online at gvsu.edu/kcon/edevents. Continuing education credits are available to registered nurses. 

Panelists at the community screening will be Bret Jackson, president of the Economic Alliance for Michigan; Julie Klausing, vice president of product, integration and operations for Great Lakes Health Connect; Thomas Peterson, vice president of quality and safety for Munson Healthcare; and Mary Kay VanDriel, president of Spectrum Health Big Rapids & Reed City hospitals.

• Area students, faculty and staff members: DeVos Center, Loosemore Auditorium, Pew Grand Rapids Campus. A reception will precede the event at 5:30 p.m. RSVP at gvsu.edu/kcon/edevents.

Student panelists will be represented by KCON, Grand Valley's College of Health Professions, and Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.

"To Err is Human" is produced by Tall Tale Productions and directed by Mike Eisenberg, son of the late Dr. John Eisenberg, who was a pioneer in patient safety. The documentary reports medical mistakes lead to as many as 440,000 preventable deaths every year, features interviews with a family who endured two deaths due to preventable errors, and highlights employees who are creating a new path to patient safety.

McCurren said the documentary is a follow-up to a 1999 report by the U.S. Institutes of Medicine, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, which detailed medical mistakes and made recommendations to build a culture of safety among health care workers that would decrease the number of errors made. She said progress has been made, but "there's a long way to go."

"By shedding light on the realities of our progress and the urgency for action, we hope professionals will set the tone for constant awareness and the significance of patient safety cultures," she said.