Awards 2011
NPSF conferred the following awards at the 13th Annual Patient Safety Congress, May 25-27, 2011, at the Gaylord National Hotel in Washington, DC.
The Doctor’s Company Foundation Young Physicians Award
For the first time, The Doctors Company Foundation in partnership with the Lucian Leape Institute at the National Patient Safety Foundation presented The Doctors Company Foundation Young Physicians Patient Safety Award, given to recognize young physicians for their deep personal insight into the significance of patient safety work. Third- and fourth-year medical students and first-year residents who were in hospital settings as of June 2010 or later were invited to submit an essay explaining their most instructional patient safety event, one that resulted in a personal transformation. Six winners of this prestigious award were selected to receive $5,000 plus registration and travel expenses to the 2011 NPSF Patient Safety Congress.
The 2011 winners were:
- Dan Henderson, MD, MPH candidate, University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Harvard School of Public Health
- Mengyao Liang, MD candidate, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Andrey Ostrovsky, BA, MD candidate, Boston University School of Medicine
- Noah Rosenberg, MSIII, University of Massachusetts Medical School
- Wael Salem, MPhil, Mayo Medical School
- Christopher Thom, MD, University of Virginia
Socius Award
Massachusetts General Hospital received the 2011 Socius Award. Socius is the Latin word for “partner,” and this award symbolizes the relationship between health care providers and the patients and families they serve. Tim Ferris, MD, medical director, Massachusetts General Physicians Organization; Eric Weil, MD; and Melissa Vespa, program care manager, accepted the honor on the organization’s behalf at the 2011 NPSF Patient Safety Congress.
Massachusetts General Hospital was recognized for the Care Management Program, one of six three-year demonstration projects selected by CMS in 2005 to test a range of ideas for caring for the sickest 15 percent of Medicare patients, who account for more than 75 percent of the nation’s health care costs. Launched in 2006, the program initially enrolled 2,500 high-risk patients, coordinating and integrating their care needs across various conditions and challenges. Case managers assessed patient needs, collaborated with physicians to develop treatment plans, educated patients about options for medical treatment and support services, facilitated patient access to services and supported patient self-management of medical conditions.
Chairman’s Medal
Robert Connors, MD, president of of Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, received the National Patient Safety Foundation Chairman’s Award. The award was given prior to the opening plenary session of the 13th Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress in Washington, DC.
The NPSF Chairman’s Medal recognizes emerging leadership in the patient safety field. Dr. Connors’ guidance at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, part of Spectrum Health System in Grand Rapids, Mich., has fostered a climate of positive change for accelerating the delivery of safe patient care.
Beginning with the stated goal of creating “the safest children’s hospital in America,” Dr. Connors spearheaded a patient safety program in 2007 that empowered staff by removing traditional hierarchies and barriers to communication. After completing an intensive training program in safety sciences and armed with error reduction tools and techniques to guide their practice, employees directly involved in patient care gained the authority to raise safety concerns with anyone at anytime. The efforts at the hospital resulted in this program being picked up by the entire Spectrum Health System organization, which includes nine hospitals and 180 care sites.
Stand Up for Patient Safety Management Award
Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Michigan City, a member of the Midwest-based Franciscan Alliance, received the Stand Up For Patient Safety Management Award at the 13th Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress. Amy Johns accepted the award on behalf of the organization.
The Management Award is granted to a member hospital of the National Patient Safety Foundation’s Stand Up for Patient Safety program in recognition of the successful implementation of an outstanding patient safety initiative led or created by mid-level management. The initiative must have demonstrated evidence of patient safety improvement, with involvement of staff at all levels of the organization.
Franciscan St. Anthony’s Nuclear Medicine Department designed a process-improvement project to study its lymph node visualization rates. The mammary sentinel lymph node biopsy, or sentinel nodal location (SNL) procedure, plays a critical role in the staging of breast cancer, and information from the biopsies is used to determine how to treat the cancer most effectively. In a study involving 24 patients, health professionals at Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Michigan City found that by reducing the length of the needles used during the biopsies, visualization rates improved dramatically, from 25 percent to 100 percent in 2010.
The Patient Safety Initiative at America’s Public Hospitals Leadership Award
In conjunction with the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (NAPH), NPSF awarded the 2011 Patient Safety Initiative at America’s Public Hospitals Leadership Award to Harborview Medical Center of Seattle, Wash. The organization was honored for its impressive work in the area of fall prevention and reduction.
Harborview carried out a six month pilot program, which is now being rolled out hospital-wide. At the end of the pilot phase, the number of falls decreased by nearly 40 percent on the trial unit and 23 percent hospital-wide. This reduction was sustained over a seven month period. In this time frame, the pilot unit did not experience one fall that resulted in major harm, and the whole institution had two falls resulting in serious injury. The number of repeat falls decreased by 38 percent, and that figure has continued to improve.
The Patient Safety Initiative is a collaboration of NAPH and NPSF. Launched in October 2009 with generous support of the Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit Fund, the program provides education, resources and communication strategies that promote safer health care. The award is given to a participating member in recognition of the successful implementation of an outstanding patient safety program and/or project that was created, executed or advanced as part of their membership.
