One of our HPI colleagues, Frank Carlton, posed the question, “What’s the origin of Start the Clock?” Thanks, Frank, for asking the question about this high-reliability leadership method. Here is your answer…

 

Extra, extra, read all about it! That would be a good line for me – my family name comes from the tongue of the bell, and our ancestral family profession was ringing the bell and reporting the news. And here is the big news – our Steve Kreiser just published in the online edition of the Patient Safety and Quality Journal a comprehensive analysis of CRM history, fundamentals, and applications to healthcare teams:

Dr Stewart Hamilton (inset right) would fit well into the lyrics of Alanis Morissette’s song Ironic. Perhaps right between the lines of “it’s like rain on your wedding day” and “a free ride when you’ve already paid.”

Dr Hamilton died 29 July 2002 in his own hospital, Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, from complications of a MRSA infection likely contracted after being admitted for treatment of a minor head laceration. He fell at home and hit his head on the dishwasher, causing a 2-inch cut. His wound was closed in the ED with staples, and he stayed overnight in the hospital for observation.