Stormont Vail’s Safety Transformation with the Mayo Clinic Care Network 

Stormont Vail Health’s journey toward a stronger safety culture included an unexpected twist: an escape room. This playful, team-based experience became a standout moment in the implementation of their safety training—bringing energy, collaboration, and a shared sense of purpose.  

As a result of this creative approach, Stormont Vail Health, an integrated health system in Kansas, recently earned an “A” safety grade from The Leapfrog Group—its first since 2022. It’s a powerful recognition of the systemwide effort to transform culture, improve reporting, and invest in behavior-based training.  

“A big part of our ‘A’ grade came from improvements in objective data like hospital-acquired infections and patient safety indicators,” explained Chad Yeager, vice president, quality and population health for Stormont Vail. “Many of the changes we made align directly with Leapfrog standards and best practices.”  

While many factors contributed to the improved score, leaders point to intentional planning, collaboration, and persistent reinforcement as key drivers of success. 

One key collaboration that helped Stormont Vail accelerate their efforts was a Health Care Consulting project available through the Mayo Clinic Care Network. Membership in the network connects organizations with Mayo Clinic clinicians and subject matter experts to support local initiatives through customized collaboration. Stormont Vail used that relationship to welcome Jennifer Cowart, M.D., hospitalist and quality leader at Mayo Clinic Florida, and safety expert Dawn Peters, for a two-day on-site engagement. 

“Dawn and I worked together for several months ahead of time… to help us prepare for what content we were going to be delivering, what meetings we were going to be in, who our audience was likely to be,” says Dr. Cowart. “We prepared slightly different versions—same theme, but slightly different versions of the content—if we were going to be in with the C-suite and board, or if we were going to be in with clinical leaders… Dawn was just amazing and helped me be really prepared.” 

Mayo Clinic thoughtfully adapted its materials to reflect Stormont Vail’s existing language and branded frameworks, including their Steps to Safety and system values.  

“I try to go into these visits with humility and an open mind. I don’t think I know all the answers to everything. I don’t think Mayo Clinic knows all the answers to everything… I try to view [Mayo Clinic Care Network members] as colleagues and partners,” she adds. “If I’m not experienced with something, I try to connect them to the right person.” 

After this visit and subsequent strategic planning, Stormont Vail successfully implemented new safety tactics, including a simplified incident reporting platform, listening engagement rounds led by executive teams, creative communication tools, and a customized rollout plan that incorporated staff feedback.  

Since the launch, Stormont Vail has seen a steady increase in incident reporting and strong participation in leadership rounding. Their culture of safety isn’t just a poster in the breakroom, but it’s showing up in behavior and engagement.  

Building on the onsite work, Mayo Clinic and Stormont Vail have kept a deliberate cadence of connection focused on just culture, policy refinement, and long-term goals. 

“We’ve connected with them two or three times since,” says Dr. Cowart. “For example, we had another call where I brought in some of my [Mayo Clinic] Florida site experts and leaders on safety and creating a fair and just culture.” 

The Stormont Vail team is preparing to roll out the Team Steps curriculum through their simulation lab, helping high-risk clinical teams sharpen communication and teamwork skills under pressure.  

This project illustrates more than a successful site visit. It reflects Mayo Clinic’s commitment to align efforts with member-organization priorities, tailor expertise to local needs, and sustain continuous improvement through ongoing dialogue and shared problem-solving. Together, Stormont Vail and Mayo Clinic are demonstrating what’s possible when intentional preparation, customization, and peer-level partnership meet a shared dedication to patient safety. 

Learn more about collaborations like this one.