UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland Celebrates Safety Week 2026

SPS is celebrating Patient and Employee Safety Week on March 8-14! In celebration of #SPSsafetyweek2026, we’re highlighting the awesome patient and employee safety improvement work within our organizations! Next up is UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland!

The PICU at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland is leading the way in proactive harm prevention through the successful implementation of Proactive Safety Huddles, strengthening both outcomes and safety culture.

The team began by trialing and refining harm‑specific huddles focused on Unplanned Extubations (UE), using real‑time conversations to anticipate risk and align on prevention strategies. As the approach proved effective, it expanded to address additional harms, including hospital‑acquired Pressure Injuries (PIs) and behavioral health, and has since been scaled across Benioff Children’s Hospitals.

To support sustainability, the PICU developed a practical framework focused on unit logistics, staff engagement, and inclusive participation, ensuring huddles were efficient, meaningful, and accessible to all team members.

After five months, a culture survey showed improvement across six UE prevention domains, including confidence in preventing UEs, comfort raising concerns, communication, and overall safety culture — reflected in a 0.1 increase on a 5‑point Likert scale. These cultural gains were associated with a 39% reduction in UE rates compared to the previous fiscal year.

During Safety Week, we’re proud to spotlight UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland’s leadership. Their work is laying the foundation for proactive safety huddles system‑wide and demonstrating how anticipation, engagement, and learning drive safer care.