Patient Safety Fair returns to Bedford County medical center

BEDFORD COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — It’s never too late to learn about patient safety. The annual Patient Safety Fair returned to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center on Wednesday after COVID-19 put it on a two-year hiatus.

The fair, held in the Atrium of the hospital was geared towards educating visitors and staff.

Over 20 stations were placed in the atrium with life-like displays and even some real participants to showcase how to care for a patient.

“The lab is very important because people can come down there and train and for education. We want people to make mistakes there. We don’t want people to make mistakes on patients,” Ron Rhoads, the Team Lead and Sym Lab Coordinator at Conemaugh said.

As hospitals around the country continue to face staffing shortages, Conemaugh also faces some challenges as well.

“We are facing staffing shortages as much as anyone else is, but we’re doing good right now,” Patient Safety Officer, Marcy Duffy-Dukery said.

To keep the fair fun and interesting, organizers have routine raffles and giveaways, and a trophy for the Champions of Patient Safety is handed out at the end of the day.