Speak Up campaign focuses on six critical areas: quality and safety, violence, regulatory compliance, harassment, well-being, and idea sharing

Introduced last year, an ongoing campaign focuses on encouraging employees to SPEAK UP when we see or hear something that should be shared, acknowledged, celebrated, or addressed.

The SPEAK UP campaign centers on the six critical areas of quality and safety, violence, regulatory compliance, harassment, well-being, and idea sharing:

Quality and Safety

SPEAK UP if you see a potentially unsafe situation.

• Elevate concerns to decrease errors and increase safety for all.
• Start with the phrase, “I have a concern.”
• Report quality and safety concerns to your supervisor, through Veritas, or to one of these departments:
  • Facilities Management.
  • Office of Clinical and Research Safety.
  • Quality, Safety and Risk Prevention.

Violence

SPEAK UP if you experience or witness workplace violence.

• Tell your supervisor right away if you see or experience violence: we are committed to keeping everyone safe and have zero tolerance for physical and verbal assaults.
• Report work injuries, safety concerns, property damage, and other serious issues in Veritas.
• Find resources on the Workplace Violence website.

Regulatory Compliance

SPEAK UP if you suspect unethical or illegal conduct.

• Contact the Office of Compliance and Corporate Integrity.
• Remember important examples of unethical or illegal conduct:
  • improper coding of or billing for a procedure.
  • not protecting subjects in a research study.
  • a privacy breach (for example, looking at a patient’s medical record when not a member of the patient’s health care team).

Harassment

SPEAK UP if you experience or witness harassment or discrimination.

• Seek help right away from your supervisor or through Employee Relations.
• Contact the SHARE Center for a confidential conversation and to discuss options for support and reporting of harassment or discrimination.

Well-Being

SPEAK UP to recognize a co-worker, or if you or a coworker needs emotional support or to express concern about someone’s welfare.

• Celebrate each other on Cause for Applause.
• Reach out to your supervisor for help or contact the Employee Assistance Program.
• Visit Work/Life Connections for more resources.

Share Your Ideas

SPEAK UP to your supervisor or other leaders with ideas to increase efficiency, solve a problem, or improve patient care.

• Listen actively to everyone’s ideas. Those closest to the work have the most insight.
• Respond to invitations from IdeaShare to submit your great ideas.

Posters are available for employees to share electronically and print for their areas.
Details are available at vumc.org/speakup.