Introduction
Ethics / Integrity
Everyone at Children’ s Hospital Colorado recognizes the privilege and responsibilities that come with caring for a child’ s health and wellbeing. We strive to provide high-quality and ethical care in all settings by following standards of care that are based upon the unique needs of our pediatric patients. We must maintain high ethical standards while operating in an environment of complex, ever-changing laws, regulations, accrediting standards and organizational policies.
We recognize that you may encounter uncertainty as you perform your duties on behalf of Children’ s Colorado. Ethics and compliance must be an integral part of your decision-making process. We have adopted this Code of Conduct as a written statement outlining a broad spectrum of ethical practices that direct our daily operations. The purpose of this Code of Conduct is to establish a common understanding of the standards of behavior expected of all team members.
We all have an obligation to take responsibility for our own conduct and cooperatively work with colleagues to establish consultative and collaborative workplaces where we are happy and proud to work. This Code of Conduct is intended to serve as a guide and reference for you to support your day-to-day decision making; however, no Code of Conduct can cover every situation you might face.
Requesting Guidance / Reporting Ethics and Compliance Concerns / Non-Retaliation
Concerns and questions about how to correctly handle situations frequently arise. When determining if a decision is ethical we often come across“ gray areas.” In those situations, ask yourself:
oo Which option will produce the most good and do the least harm? oo Which option best respects the rights of everyone involved? oo Which option treats people equally? oo Which option best serves Children’ s Colorado as an organization? oo
Which option leads me to abide by the Code of Conduct?
We all have the responsibility to question and promptly report any activity that appears to violate this Code of Conduct or any laws, regulations, or Children’ s Colorado policies. We are committed to maintaining an environment where open and honest communication is the expectation, not the exception. You may request guidance or report concerns using one of several mechanisms available.
If you have ethical or compliance concerns, you should report them to your team leader, to the next level of leadership, or you may contact Human Resources or the Corporate Compliance Program( CCP). If you do not feel comfortable speaking directly to someone at Children’ s Colorado, you may also report concerns anonymously and / or confidentially to the Compliance Hotline via phone( 1-866-568-5420) or online.
We have a non-retaliation policy which means team members may not be disciplined, reprimanded, or retaliated against for reporting a potential problem( including safety or quality of care concerns) to appropriate personnel or outside regulatory agencies in an accurate or truthful manner.
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