NM CARES Supports Clinicians and Families After Patient Safety Events

September 10, 2026 | 1 min. read

A new program called NM Communication and Resolution with Empathy and Support (NM CARES) supports timely, transparent and compassionate communications among clinicians, patients and families following a patient safety event.
 
NM CARES focuses on four key elements:

• Organizational clinician support and referral to peer-to-peer support
• Early communication to patients and families
• Resolution
• Ongoing learning and improvement

 
A better approach to timely communication and resolution
 
In early 2025, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and 12 other health systems joined a year-long effort called the Pathway to Accountability, Compassion, and Transparency (PACT) collaborative to enhance their approaches to timely communication and resolution after patient safety events. Northwestern Medicine already had key elements in place, including policies, a supportive risk team and peer-to-peer support.
 
“For many years, we told families when a patient safety event occurred, but we saw the opportunity to improve how we communicate in these situations,” says Kevin O’Leary, MD, vice president of Quality. “We also know our colleagues are deeply affected by these events. Conversations with patients and families can be very challenging, and the way we support clinicians in these moments can drastically change the experience for them.”
 
Supporting clinicians and families after patient safety events

When a patient safety event occurs, it is reviewed by a local NM CARES review team, which includes a physician executive, a nurse executive, Risk Management and Patient Relations. A clinician can also request to have NM CARES help manage an event.

If the case moves into the NM CARES process, the involved clinician is offered an NM CARES coach for real-time support. The coach is specially trained to provide assistance as the clinician prepares for conversations about the case.

“The framework we’re using gives clinicians the chance to be human and to say to the family, ‘I’m thankful that you’re giving me the opportunity to talk to you about it,’” says Ololade Mitchell, MSN, MS, RN, CPHRM, CLNC, director of Risk and Patient Safety.

To provide similar support to the family, a point person is assigned by the site’s NM CARES review team. The point person becomes the family’s contact as the team investigates the issue and reports back what NM will do to prevent similar events.

“As part of that learning process, our colleagues need to feel supported by our organization and by the rest of the healthcare team so they can move forward and care for other patients,” says Lisa DeLaMar, manager of Patient Relations at Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital.

 Systemwide roll-out

In September, NM CARES will go live at NMH, Catherine Gratz Griffin LFH, Central DuPage Hospital and Palos Hospital. A system-level NM CARES oversight committee will support local review teams and provide opportunities for colleagues to share what they’ve learned. The team will also create a forum for peer coaches to receive support for their integral roles in the process.
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The remaining NM hospitals are in the PACT phase of their journeys as they prepare for the program’s launch in FY27 at their sites. In FY27, the team will also begin considering how NM CARES will support clinicians and patients in ambulatory settings.