Josie King's Journal Analysis

According to Johns Hopkins patient safety experts, more than 250,000 deaths per year are due to medical error in the U.S, and surpasses the United States Center for Disease Control and Preventions third leading cause of death, which is respiratory disease, killing close to 150,000 people per year. (Daniel, 2016) Josie’s family used their money from the settlement of their legal case against the hospital to establish Josie King Foundation. This foundation’s mission is to prevent others from being harmed by medical errors. I found their solutions to prevent errors from occurring to be very beneficial and appropriate. Sorrel King stated, “The thing with Josie’s death, like so many deaths due to medical errors, is that she did not die from a doctor’s mistake. She did not die from a nurse’s …show more content…
The main goal of the journal was to help bridge the gap between the disconnect that exists between patients and their caregivers. The journal has thirty daily journal entries, with each entry consisting “of prompts that take the guesswork out of what information to remember” such as parking place, names of medical team on duty, daily goals, medications, surgery/procedures, diet, questions to ask, and thoughts. (Josie King Foundation, 2001) A family initiated rapid response team (FIRR) is another prevention/solution that Sorrel had contributed to. It is similar to the standard rapid response team. It promotes families and patients to become active participants in the patients care, allowing them to pick up on subtle changes in their conditions, and allows them to be active in the patients care. The families and patients are given a brochure in the begging of admission explaining what it is and how to use it. A FIRR is initiated when patient or family members notice a change in a health condition that continues to concern them still after notifying the