Hosted by Sala Institute for Child and Family Centered Care, the Pediatric Hospital-Acquired Conditions Retreat gathered over 40 team members who support quality and safety efforts for an event focused on partnering across our hospitals. Hospital acquired conditions (HACs) are preventable injuries or illnesses that develop while a patient is receiving care. Stopping HACs before they happen is one of our many priorities in delivering the highest quality care for children and their families.
The retreat marked an important step in the expansion of Sala’s quality and safety programming throughout the health system.
Rachel Ramsey, director of Sala Institute, described the significance of this development:
“Sala Institute delivers on a commitment to continuously advance safe, compassionate care for children and their families. The growth and expansion of NYU Langone’s footprint of pediatric care has brought great opportunity and responsibility to ensure children and families experience the same level of care—quality, safety, and partnership—wherever they are seen. This is made possible by bringing together resources and expertise from each location to align on that responsibility.”
Quality and safety are foundational to Sala Institute’s programs, which are guided by the core values of partnership and trust. During the retreat, the essential role of partnership in creating safer care was illustrated by Helen Waters, a member of Sala’s Family Advisory Council. Helen’s daughter, Marielle, received a complex cardiovascular diagnosis at just a few weeks old and received extensive care at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital.
Before beginning her story, Helen shared a hug with Colsie Myrie, nurse manager of the congenital cardiovascular care unit at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital. This moment reflected the respect and compassion at the heart of her family’s experience.  Helen spoke openly about the challenges her family faced over the course of Marielle’s months-long stay at the hospital, offering practical recommendations for making care even safer.
Helen’s recommendations highlighted the critical nature of effective communication: “Having a reliable, shared narrative is what safety means to me,” she said. Her perspective prompted meaningful discussion about how small miscommunications can contribute to significant safety events.
Helen Waters and her daughter, Marielle
Through partnerships with families and reflecting on stories like Helen’s, Sala integrates lived experiences into the design of new initiatives.
Small group discussions at the retreat focused on strategies to enhance communication, including developing shared HAC educational efforts, both in how HAC prevention education reaches frontline staff and how staff communicate these efforts to patients and those who care for them. Retreat participants also discussed strategies for aligning safety goals and practices, including integrating data dashboards and facilitating new cross-campus HAC meetings. This collaboration allows our campuses to learn from one another, rather than duplicating efforts, which means that advancements in care delivery can reach our patients faster.
By the end of the day, retreat attendees had identified multiple opportunities for cross-campus learning, reflecting a commitment to building aligned standards for safety while keeping the experience of children and families at the center. Sala Institute’s existing model underscores that quality and safety are inseparable from the experience of care. By working together across the system and listening closely to the experiences of children and families, our teams can ensure that every child and family benefits from the collective expertise and unwavering focus on safety that define exceptional care.