IV 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 158 
Expressing support for the goals and ideals of National Patient Safety 
Awareness Week. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 9, 2011 
Mr. ISRAEL submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for the goals and ideals of National 
Patient Safety Awareness Week. 
Whereas patient safety is the freedom from accidental injury 
due to medical care or medical errors and is vital to high 
quality medical care; 
Whereas the landmark 1999 Institute of Medicine study ‘‘To 
Err is Human’’ helped launch the patient safety move-
ment by reporting that medical errors lead to the deaths 
of as many as 98,000 people each year and that medical 
errors 
relating 
to 
hospitalization 
cost 
between 
$17,000,000,000 and $29,000,000,000 annually; 
Whereas the Nation has made important progress in raising 
patient safety awareness since the release of such study, 
including developing reporting systems and establishing 
national data collection standards; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:59 Mar 09, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR158.IH
HR158
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 158 IH 
Whereas the National Patient Safety Foundation has recog-
nized, endorsed, and encouraged the celebration of Pa-
tient Safety Awareness Week since the week was first es-
tablished in 2002, to bring attention to the issue of med-
ical error and to engage providers, patients, and commu-
nities in efforts to improve the safety of healthcare in 
America; 
Whereas, each year since 2003, the Agency for Healthcare 
Research and Quality has published the National 
Healthcare Quality Report built on more than 200 meas-
ures categorized across four dimensions of quality, in-
cluding patient safety; 
Whereas, in 2004, the World Health Organization formed the 
World Alliance for Patient Safety which aims to coordi-
nate, disseminate, and accelerate improvements in patient 
safety worldwide; 
Whereas the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act 
was signed into law on July 29, 2005, to improve patient 
safety by encouraging voluntary and confidential report-
ing of events that adversely affect patients; 
Whereas there are now 80 Patient Safety Organizations na-
tionwide listed by the Department of Health and Human 
Services; 
Whereas the number of States with medical error reporting 
systems has nearly doubled since 2000, with 27 States 
now requiring hospitals to report the occurrence of 
‘‘never events’’, or those adverse events that are serious 
and largely preventable; 
Whereas the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid initiated its 
hospital-acquired condition policy in 2008, refusing to 
cover the costs of conditions that were acquired in the 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:59 Mar 09, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR158.IH
HR158
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 158 IH 
hospital and that could reasonably have been prevented, 
marking the first use of the payment system to promote 
patient safety; 
Whereas the goal of patient safety is yet to be fully achieved, 
and still ‘‘merits urgent attention’’, according to the 
2009 National Healthcare Quality Report; 
Whereas the 2008 National Healthcare Quality Report found 
that approximately 1 out of 7 adult hospitalized Medicare 
patients experienced 1 or more adverse events; 
Whereas infections acquired during hospital care are serious 
patient safety concerns, and among the most common 
complications of hospital care; 
Whereas research has demonstrated that hospital-acquired in-
fections and medical errors can be reduced and that lives 
can be saved through the appropriate timing of antibiotic 
delivery among surgical patients, the proper placement of 
central venous catheters, the establishment of a culture 
of safety, and other practical interventions, such as the 
use of checklists; 
Whereas healthcare providers are committed to a collabo-
rative, meaningful, long-term approach to ensure greater 
patient safety in the delivery of healthcare in our Nation 
and to continually advancing efforts to improve patient 
safety through the development and promotion of com-
munication tools for safer healthcare and the use of qual-
ity measures based on evidence-based guidelines; 
Whereas the goals and ideals of Patient Safety Awareness 
Week are to focus attention on the need to improve the 
safety of medical care, recognize the safety innovations 
generated by frontline medical staff, celebrate patient 
safety successes, encourage the medical community to 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:59 Mar 09, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR158.IH
HR158
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 158 IH 
adopt best practices that increase patient safety, encour-
age patients to learn approaches to improve the safety of 
their healthcare, promote research to identify effective so-
lutions to patient safety-related problems, and to ac-
knowledge those individuals who have dedicated their 
time and talent to help promote patient safety; and 
Whereas the patient safety community recognizes and cele-
brates National Patient Safety Awareness Week during 
the second week in March every calendar year: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the goals and ideals of National 
Patient Safety Awareness Week; 
(2) encourages the President to issue a procla-
mation in support of the goals and ideals of Na-
tional Patient Safety Awareness Week; 
(3) encourages States, localities territories, and 
possessions of the United States to support the goals 
and ideals of National Patient Safety Awareness 
Week by issuing proclamations designating National 
Patient Safety Awareness Week; 
(4) encourages the continuation and accelera-
tion of private sector efforts to take immediate steps 
to improve patient safety and recognizes the need 
for action in the public sector to complement these 
efforts; and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:59 Mar 09, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR158.IH
HR158
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 158 IH 
(5) recognizes and reaffirms the Nation’s com-
mitment to promoting patient safety through edu-
cation programs, supporting research, and expand-
ing access to safe medical treatment. 
Æ 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:59 Mar 09, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR158.IH
HR158
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS