Outbreaks of respiratory illness are common across the globe and are typically seasonal in nature. Influenza represents between 9 million and 45 million illnesses, 140,000-810,000 hospitalizations, and 12,000-61,000 deaths (CDC, n.d.), while Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) represents an estimated 177,000 hospitalizations and 14,000 deaths in US adults (CDC, 2019). Both examples illustrate the continued healthcare worker risk and strained system capacity attributable to annual community-acquired respiratory infections. The current COVID-19 pandemic, however, has brought healthcare systems (and world economies) to their knees, with over 7 million reported cases and over 400,000 deaths worldwide in less than a year, and still growing (WHO, 2020).

Our APSS outline actionable steps healthcare organizations should take to successfully implement and sustain behavior change for high reliability, shared understanding, thorough communication, and meaningful person-centered care across the organization.

Actionable steps include:

• Executive Summary Checklist
• Leadership checklist guide to determine whether current evidence-based guidelines are being followed in your organization
• Performance improvement plan to follow if improvements are necessary
• Clinical workflow for preoccupation with workflow for areas of improvement
• How to educate patients and family members about the significance of their role throughout the continuum
• Guidance on how to measure outcomes