Confident Voices in Healthcare | Part 1: Pursuing the ERMA Solution

Interview with Jean Snyder, DNAP, CRNA who took charge of patient safety with development of ERMA (Error Reduction and Mitigation Aide)

The following is the first article in a three-part series about inventor Jean Snyder, DNAP, CRNA, who shares about how she was inspired to take action to improve safety in high risk areas such as the OR, ED, and ICU.  She tells us why her Error Reduction and Mitigation Aide is important and details her path for making her idea a reality while giving advice to others who would like to  innovate too.  She is a Virginia nurse who is working with The Innovation Institute in Southern California to develop and distribute her invention.

PART 1: What lead you to pursue the ERMA solution?

In 2008, The Joint Commission released National Patient Safety Goal 03.04.01 that addressed the labeling of medications. Included in this element of performance was the mandate to save all vials and syringes until the completion of a procedure. I noticed the difficulty with compliance as anesthesia providers had no mechanism to safely quarantine these items. Soon afterwards, this portion of the mandate was redacted but I felt that we needed a mechanism in order to safely comply because there was value in the retention of syringes and vials in the course of an anesthetic. More…