[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 85 (Friday, June 18, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1181]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF A HOUSE RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEAS OF 
                         NATIONAL TIME OUT DAY

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                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 18, 2004

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a House 
resolution supporting the goals and ideas of the National Time Out Day, 
which the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) and 
over 50 other health care organizations are celebrating on June 23, 
2004 to promote the adoption of a new protocol for preventing medical 
errors in the operating room.
  The number of individuals who are affected by medical errors is 
astounding. In 2000, the Institute of Medicine released a report 
entitled ``To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System.'' The 
report revealed that between 44,000 and 98,000 hospitalized people in 
the U.S. die each year due to medical errors, and thousands of others 
suffer injury or illness as a result of preventable errors.
  To address this problem, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of 
Healthcare Organizations has developed a universal protocol which calls 
for surgical teams to call a ``time out'' before surgeries begin in 
order to verify the patient's identity, the procedure to be performed, 
and the site of the procedure. The Joint Commission is requiring 
nurses, surgeons and hospitals throughout the country to adopt this 
protocol beginning July 1, 2004, in order to curb the alarming number 
of deaths and injuries due to medical errors.
  AORN has created an Internet website and distributed 55,000 tool kits 
to healthcare professionals to help them implement the universal 
protocol, and they are celebrating National Time Out Day on June 23 to 
promote the protocol and its adoption.
  National Time Out Day has been endorsed by a distinguished group of 
healthcare organizations, including the American College of Surgeons, 
the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the American Hospital 
Association, and the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management.
  Mr. Speaker, ultimately, this issue is about health care access and 
patient safety. Fewer medical errors will result in better outcomes for 
patients, fewer medical malpractice suits, which in turn will help keep 
malpractice insurance rates and health care premiums down.
  I think it is important for Congress to recognize and congratulate 
perioperative nurses and representatives of surgical teams for working 
together to reduce medical errors and to ensure the improved health and 
safety of surgical patients--and that is the purpose of this 
resolution.

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