The Queen's Health Systems’ commitment to quality and patient safety
Our ultimate goal is zero preventable harm to patients
At The Queen’s Health Systems, our physicians, nurses and staff are committed to providing every patient with the highest quality and safest care. By taking a pledge to put Patients First, we treat patients as if they are members of our ohana, our family, working together as one team, and holding ourselves and each other accountable to provide the best care. Placing our patients’ needs first is at the center of what we do and unites us as one Queen’s team.
We promote an environment of open communication, teamwork, and continuous learning. And because we believe that well-informed patients take a more active role in improving their health condition, we value shared decision-making and will partner with patients and families every step of the way.
We also know that high quality, safe care is even better when it’s delivered with compassion, aloha, respect and excellence. We strive to do this every day, drawing inspiration from our Founder Queen Emma. It is The Queen Emma Way.
We believe that collaboration provides opportunities for continuous learning and improvement. The following collaborations and programs bring quality and patient safety to the forefront on a daily basis.
Partnership with Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety
Queen’s formed a collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute in 2015 to advance patient safety and quality through shared innovations, education and learning. Current focus is on Activity and Mobility Promotion. Hospitalized patients generally spend much of their day in bed. Whether patients are in the intensive care unit or in other hospital units, immobility and its associated negative consequences may increase the length of stay and hospital-acquired harms, leading to worse patient outcomes. Queen’s has established mobility as a priority to synergize with safety and quality initiatives such as falls, pressure injuries and delirium.
Why mobility matters:
Patients in the hospital spend much of their day in bed. Early mobilization is essential to preventing a wide range of complications that can develop quickly when patients remain in bed. This includes:
- Muscle deconditioning
- Pressure injuries
- Blood clots
- Respiratory complications
- Falls
- Functional decline
Regular movement supports better circulation, improves lung function, maintains strength, and promotes independence, all of which contribute to faster recovery and safer discharges. Encouraging mobility also enhances patient confidence, reduces length of stay, and supports overall physical and emotional well‑being—making it a key component of high‑quality, patient‑centered care.
Partnership with the community to advance patient safety
In Hawai`i, healthcare providers collaborate with each other when it comes to pursuing zero preventable harm. One way Queen’s supports this collaboration is coordinating a state-wide patient safety conference. Since 2023, the Queen’s Center for Quality and Patient Safety has partnered with stakeholders across Hawai`i to offer a conference that is specifically focused on sharing safest practices and learning about harm prevention. More information about the conference is available by emailing QPSD@queens.org.
Patient Safety Officers
As part of a system-wide journey to high reliability, Queen’s has developed a Patient Safety Officer (PSO) role. PSOs are specially trained clinicians who have an added role to improve patient safety while continuing their day-to-day clinical work. PSOs are responsible for supporting and facilitating learning and innovation to eliminate patient harm. In addition, PSOs work to foster a fair and just culture of safety within their service lines.
