In 2011, the MHA PSO and its member hospitals and health systems launched the Safe Tables project. A “Safe Table” is a members-only shared learning meeting among health system and hospital peers to exchange patient safety experiences, discuss best practices, network and learn in an open, uninhibited and legally protected environment. The venue provides attendees with the opportunity to share deidentified adverse events with other hospitals, gain input and support, and learn from their own mistakes as well as the mistakes of others.

The MHA PSO convenes Safe Table meetings for hospitals specializing in neonatal or pediatric care, as well as for all acute-care hospitals. Topics vary from meeting to meeting. Safe Tables will be held regularly across Michigan to encourage maximum participation, and valuable lessons and best practices developed during the meeting will be shared, in a deidentified format, with hospitals statewide.

The MHA PSO invites one or two staff from each MHA PSO-member hospital and health system, drawn from patient safety, risk management, quality or patient care/clinician areas to attend each Safe Table. The 2012 calendar of Safe Tables is now available and will be updated with meeting topics throughout the year. Members will receive individual invitations via email for each meeting as its respective date approaches; however, members who identify meetings they wish to attend prior to receiving a formal invitation are encouraged to contact Steve Levy at their earliest convenience.

Members who wish to suggest meeting topics or offer to host a Safe Table are encouraged to contact Steve Levy or Ruthanne Sudderth at the MHA PSO.