AUSTIN, Texas, October 29, 2008 - Pearson and Decision Critical, Inc. (Decision Critical) announced the formation of a strategic relationship that will provide Pearson’s clinical nursing skills competency checklists to the healthcare market through Critical Check ListsTM, Decision Critical’s competency checklist solution. In keeping with the mission to provide their clients with only the most extensive, relevant and trusted content, Decision Critical will now offer their clients over 700 specialized nursing competency checklists from Pearson resulting in the healthcare industry’s most comprehensive specialized nursing competency check list solution.
“The checklists’ ability to standardize and measure clinical competency has proven to be a successful strategy for improving patient safety, reducing variation in nursing practice, and improving the quality of care in all types of clinical environments,” said Maura Connor, Editor-in-Chief, Nursing for Pearson Health Science. “By partnering with Decision Critical, we have the opportunity to provide a critical and comprehensive nursing competency solution to help today’s healthcare institutions improve outcomes.”
The World Health Organization recently reported on its “Safe Surgery Checklist,” and the preliminary outcomes data showed reductions in complications, infections and deaths and overall increases in standards of care. Decision Critical’s Critical Check ListsTM provide automated, customizable clinical skill check lists that assure the demonstration and evaluation of every step involved in the mastery of each organization-defined nursing competency. Assuring the ongoing mastery of nursing skills results in improved patient outcomes and significantly reduced organizational risk.
“No industry is more rife with competency-related risk than healthcare,” said Kenneth W. Dion, RN, MSN/MBA, PhD, Founder and CEO of Decision Critical. “Critical Check ListsTM revolutionizes the way managers and educators manage competencies and provide a key component against costly mistakes in an organization’s overall risk management program. We have determined that the content that we will be able to provide as a result of this partnership with Pearson is extremely comprehensive and expertly developed. After exploring a range of alternatives, we determined that Pearson’s curriculum stood out as first class.”
About Decision Critical, Inc.
Decision Critical, Inc.’s (Decision Critical) web-based learning management, competency checklists, professional portfolio and professional evaluation systems provide 360 degree competency management for today’s healthcare provider organizations. Our systems were designed to help healthcare organizations reduce staffing, improve patient care and ensure staff training competency and compliance. Our systems currently serve over 500,000 users in more than 500 healthcare organizations from Alaska to Kuwait. Decision Critical is a privately-held company headquartered in Austin, Texas. For more information, go to www.decisioncritical.com.
About Pearson
Pearson (NYSE: PSO), the global leader in education and education technology, reaches and engages today’s digital natives with effective and personalized learning, as well as dedicated professional development for their teachers. This commitment is demonstrated in the company’s investment in innovative print and digital education materials for preK through professional learning, student information systems and learning management systems, teacher development, career certification programs and testing and assessment products that set the standard for the industry. The company’s respected brands include Scott Foresman, Prentice Hall, Addison Wesley, Benjamin Cummings, the Stanford Achievement Test, the Wechsler family of assessments, SuccessNet, MyLabs, PowerSchool, SuccessMaker and many others. Pearson’s comprehensive offerings help inform targeted instruction and intervention so that success is within reach of every student at every level of education. Pearson’s commitment to education for all is supported by the global charitable giving initiatives of the Pearson Foundation. Pearson’s other primary businesses include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group. For more information, go to www.pearson.com.
Contact: Amanda LeBlanc
Decision Critical, Inc.
1-800-794-1770
amanda@decisioncritical.com
Rod Granger
Pearson
212-641-6114
rod.granger@pearson.com
