Advancing HRO Forward: Upcoming High Reliability Organization Fundamentals Training

Through the statewide HRO Forward initiative, Connecticut hospitals are strengthening patient and workforce safety by advancing a culture where safety is a shared responsibility and everyone is empowered to speak up, identify risks, and prevent harm. HRO stands for high reliability organization — an approach focused on delivering safe, high-quality care consistently, especially in complex environments.

The Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) is pleased to offer a series of HRO Fundamentals Training opportunities from November 2026 through April 2027. These programs are designed to advance teams in their HRO journey by reinforcing core principles, building practical skills, and strengthening safety culture.

All sessions are offered at no cost to CHA Patient Safety Organization (PSO) hospital members. For additional information, contact CHA Education Services at 203-294-7263 or EducationServices@chime.org. PSO-member hospital staff and teams can register for upcoming HRO Fundamentals Training sessions on the CHA website here.

The educational offerings include:

• Apparent Cause Analysis: Strengthening the ability to investigate precursor and near-miss events, identify contributing system factors, and develop corrective actions.
• Cause Analysis Workshop: Building skills in identifying root causes, developing effective corrective actions, and applying lessons learned through interactive case studies and discussion.
• Safety Starts with Me – Train-the-Trainer: Preparing organizational trainers to reinforce CHAMP patient safety and error prevention behaviors across their teams.
• Safety Coach Training: Developing peer mentors who recognize positive high reliability behaviors and reinforce opportunities for improvement.

These sessions offer an excellent opportunity to introduce new hospital team members to HRO principles while providing valuable refreshers for experienced staff and leaders.

Click here to review the 2026-2027 HRO Fundamentals Training schedule and learn more about the types of offerings. The first sessions begin on Tuesday, November 10, with additional offerings being scheduled through April 2027.

New Resources: CHAMP Patient Safety Framework

CHA has also developed new resources to reinforce the CHAMP patient safety framework. The CHAMP acronym outlines five core behaviors that help reduce errors and improve communication across healthcare teams. These behaviors are foundational to the high reliability journey, providing staff with practical tools and a shared language to promote safety and prevent harm.

1. C – Communicate Clearly
2. H – Hand Off Effectively
3. A – Attention to Detail
4. M – Mentor Each Other
5. P – Practice and Accept a Questioning Attitude

All current and future CHAMP resources are available on the Quality and Patient Safety page of the CHA website.

1. CHAMP Behaviors and Tools Handout: Available to view and download here, this printable handout is a visual guide to the five core behaviors represented by each letter of the CHAMP acronym, along with the tools that support each behavior.
2. CHAMP Videos: These quick videos are designed to offer a simple, engaging way to supplement hospitals’ current CHAMP education and training, and can be integrated into safety huddles, staff meetings, leadership discussions, or other educational opportunities. The latest videos are available to view on YouTube here.