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Celebrating All Who Say "I'm Possible"

Featured Stories

When he entered the ED, he appeared to be in good health. He was joking, responsive, seemed physically fit. But, something didn’t add up. He was perspiring, his skin felt cool, and he started to turn gray. I immediately ordered an ECG, and the results told everything.

That is the situation Sara Backhaus, RN, found herself facing one evening, serving as a new nurse in Florida Hospital Orlando’s Emergency Department (ED). She had just transferred over from Med-Surg.

Sara’s quick critical thinking and assertiveness resulted in the patient immediately being transferred to the cath lab, saving his life. Her story exemplifies how simulation-based training can prepare someone to look at challenges not as impossible but as an “I’m possible.”

May 6-12, 2018 marks National Nurses Week and National Hospital Week, a week when we celebrate nurses and providers everywhere who stand in the gap between patient risk and zero preventable harm. We want to thank Sara, her nurse educators, and everyone in patient simulation who work diligently to make zero preventable harm an attainable goal.

What’s your “I’m possible” story? After you’ve read Sara’s, we hope that you’ll share yours.

Sara's Story

Zero: The "I'm Possible" Goal

Medical errors take the lives of 250,000 patients annually in the U.S., according to researchers at Johns Hopkins. In response, the patient safety community has committed itself to a goal of zero preventable harm by the year 2020. Without stories like Sara's, it might be easy to conclude that zero preventable harm is idealistic. But, it's not. It's a real, tangible, and attainable goal. We believe that simulation is a means to getting there.

What's your "I'm possible" story?

Laerdal's Commitment

Earlier this year, our CEO, Tore Laerdal, declared Laerdal's commitment to achieving zero preventable harm.  Hear what he had to say.