Quality and Patient Safety
Waldo County General Hospital is committed to providing the best quality and patient safety in the Midcoast. Your safety is our number one focus, and we know that focus will also result in the highest quality of care in our community.
Quality at WCGH
At Waldo County General Hospital, we are constantly striving to improve our quality of care. It is our goal to meet and exceed the expectations of our patients and their families by providing safe, efficient, high-quality, patient-centered care.
- Ask for ID of everyone who comes in your room, all hospital employees wear identification badges
- Speak up if hospital staff doesn’t ask for your identification
- Ask if the person washed his or her hands before they touch you. If you are told you need certain tests or procedures, ask why you need them, when they will happen and how long it will be before you get the results
All medications you take while in the hospital are prescribed by your doctor, dispensed by the hospital pharmacy and administered by a nurse. Patients are not permitted to administer their own drugs or keep personal medications at their bedsides, unless authorized by their physician.
Preventing Medication Errors
By taking part in your own care, you can help the members of your healthcare team avoid medication errors. Here’s how:- Be sure that all of your doctors know what medications you have been taking, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, herbal and vitamin supplements, natural remedies and recreational drugs
- Be sure that all of your doctors know of any allergies you may have to any medications, anesthesia, foods, latex products, etc.
- When you are brought medications or IV fluids, ask the person to check to be sure you are the patient who is supposed to receive the medications. Show that person your ID bracelet to double-check