Tampa General Hospital Achieves First Collaborative Just Culture® and Reliability Management Team™ Qualifications

Tampa General Hospital Achieves First Collaborative Just Culture® and Reliability Management Team™ Qualifications



Tampa General is the first academic medical center in the United States to receive these prestigious safety qualifications which validate that an organization has established programs and teams focused on identifying, understanding and managing risk. 

Tampa, FL (March 2, 2023) – Tampa General Hospital announced today that it has received two key qualifications from an international accreditation organization as part of its journey to becoming the first academic medical center and Level I trauma center in the country to achieve certification[1] as a Collaborative High Reliability Organization®.

DNV, a global independent certification, assurance and risk management provider, has awarded Tampa General — the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine — qualifications for its Collaborative Just Culture Program® and High Reliability Management Team™. 

The two qualifications are critical steps forward on Tampa General’s path toward becoming a certified Collaborative High Reliability Organization. Organizations across a range of industries — from airlines to major utility companies — often pursue certification to become a Collaborative High Reliability Organization in order to achieve internationally recognized best practice standards in safety for their customers and teams, and to empower employees to feel safe in identifying and reporting potential risks before a problem occurs. 

“As a leading academic medical center dedicated to fostering the safest possible environment for team members, physicians, patients and families, we continuously seek opportunities to improve our processes, decrease our risks and enhance the overall safety of our organization,” said John Couris, president, and CEO of Tampa General Hospital. “A critical step in this work is implementing best-practice standards and becoming a certified Collaborative High Reliability Organization.”

“We are proud that once certified, Tampa General will be the first large academic medical center to receive this distinction — setting us apart, as a national leader in providing the safest and highest quality care to our community, region, state and beyond,” Couris added.

Collaborative Just Culture fosters a culture of safety and trust across an organization through processes, and programs. High Reliability Management refers to a consistent level of excellence in quality and safety in an organization. A Collaborative High Reliability Organization demonstrates sustainable, predictable organizational reliability.

“Achieving Collaborative High Reliability Organization status will have a direct, positive impact on Tampa General patients and team members, and we are proud of this progress and important step forward in our journey for this major certification,” said Dr. Peggy Duggan, executive vice president and chief medical officer, Tampa General. “Building a culture of safety and trust is not only part of our vison at Tampa General, but also vital to our continuous improvement goal of further enhancing patient safety.”

Following the qualifications that Tampa General has just received, the process for achieving Collaborative High Reliability Organization status is rigorous and takes about two years. 

“Achieving qualification demonstrates a commitment to excellence and demonstrates to your community a real commitment to providing highly reliable care,” said Kelly Proctor, president of DNV Healthcare USA Inc. DNV conducted an extensive audit prior to awarding the two qualifications. The Collaborative Just Culture Program® identifies organizations that foster a culture of safety and trust by balancing accountability between individuals and the organization through evidence-based processes, tools, and systems. 

The Reliability Management Team qualification identifies Tampa General as building an internal team of high-reliability experts who are collaboratively developing a clear purpose, goals, and a reliability plan for the organization. The Reliability Management Team will play an important role moving forward, as it includes internal experts who will help Tampa General achieve its goal of becoming a Collaborative High Reliability Organization.

SG Collaborative Solutions’ (which authored the Collaborative Just Culture and High Reliability models) president Scott Griffith says, “the two qualifications – Collaborative Just Culture Program and High Reliability Management Team – validate that an organization has built an infrastructure focused on workplace justice and collaboration and is committed to those attributes central to becoming a highly reliable organization such as safety, customer service, equity, privacy, quality, financial responsibility, and operational integrity.”