[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 28 (Thursday, March 10, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E420-E421]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




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

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 10, 2005

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a House 
resolution recognizing 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 22, 
2005 to promote the adoption of a new protocol for preventing medical 
errors in the operating room.

[[Page E421]]

  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 has required nurses, 
surgeons and hospitals throughout the country to adopt this protocol 
effective 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. 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. 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 urge the House to adopt the resolution.

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