Regulatory Affairs’ “Room of Errors” helps employees prepare
Published March 27, 2025
On March 6, Accreditation and Regulatory Affairs set up a “Room of Errors” at the Bridgeport Hospital Milford Campus. Employees such as Jodi Reynolds, RN, were invited to find as many of the approximately 50 errors as they could.
Employees visiting the Room of Errors spotted problems before going through the door. A workstation on wheels outside the room that should have been clear was littered with inappropriate items.
There was something very wrong in room S392 at the Bridgeport Hospital Milford Campus.
“Is that … blood?” asked Jodi Reynolds, RN, eyeing a spot on a glucometer that was sitting on the windowsill.
Thankfully, the blood was fake. Staff with Yale New Haven Health’s Accreditation and Regulatory Affairs put it on the glucometer and placed the instrument, along with a half dozen other items, on the sill.
They didn’t stop there. Accreditation and Regulatory Affairs staff transformed the entire empty patient room into a “Room of Errors” to illustrate – sometimes in unpleasant detail – a wide variety of problems that can compromise patient and staff safety and the environment of care. The approximately 50 errors in the room highlighted the kinds of violations inspectors with the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH), The Joint Commission and other regulatory and accreditation organizations look for during hospital surveys.
“I spent eight and a half years as a bedside nurse,” said Eileen Landry, RN, regulatory specialist. “We used to dread getting the text ‘the state [DPH] is here.’ We wanted to try to reduce that stress for staff by helping them prepare.”
Employees were invited to find errors that were sometimes easy to spot, such as the red allergy alert bracelet on the bedside table that belonged on the “patient” (a simulation manikin). Other errors required closer scrutiny, such as the expired IV bag with the wrong patient’s name.
Some errors focused on the environment of care, such as the dust bunnies on the floor, tear in the chair cushion and emergency pull cord in the bathroom wrapped around a handrail.
Accreditation and Regulatory Affairs reminded employees to use CHAMP behaviors such as 200% accountability and ARCC (ask, request, concern and chain of command) when they discover problems such as these.
Employees said they found the Room of Errors helpful.
“This was great,” said Amanda Smith, RN. “It was more engaging than doing case studies.”
“I didn’t know that windowsills in the patient rooms had to be clear,” said Claribel Agosto, PA. “This kind of simulation definitely makes you more aware of the things we should be reporting.”
This was Bridgeport Hospital’s second Room of Errors this year. Greenwich Hospital will host one later this spring.
“We want to emphasize that regulatory compliance really is everyone’s job,” said Ellen Solomon, senior regulatory specialist. “Our policies are written to protect our patients’ safety and improve outcomes, but the policies also help keep all employees safe.”
