Patients and visitors in Washington hospitals may have noticed a change in the way emergency calls are made over a facility’s public address system. WSHA recently led a statewide campaign with members to create standardized plain language calls for use in hospitals, and implementation began Oct. 1.
The newly standardized language makes it easier for staff, patients and visitors to understand emergent situations in hospitals. There will be no need to use a reference card to know what is happening, allowing for a quicker, more efficient response. This initiative targets equity as well, as plain language alerts are more useful to those with limited English proficiency, cognitive impairments or sensory difficulties. Everyone deserves equal access to emergency information.
Participation in using these new calls is voluntary, but our Clinical Excellence Committee strongly recommends it. Numerous federal agencies — including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — endorse the use of plain language calls as a best practice in emergencies.
Thank you to our members who participated in this campaign and provided feedback. You were central to this work. Please contact WSHA Senior Director of Clinical Excellence Tina Seery at tinas@wsha.org if you have any questions about this initiative or would like to get our new badge buddy artwork that you can print and distribute to your staff.
Sincerely,
Cassie Sauer
WSHA President & CEO
Cassies@wsha.org