University Hospitals Recognized at White House for Patient Safety Leadership

CLEVELAND – Leaders from University Hospitals joined a select few of the nation’s leading healthcare systems at a White House forum on patient and workforce safety as part of World Patient Safety Day on September 17.

UH CEO Cliff A. Megerian, MD, FACS, Jane and Henry Meyer Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair, and Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD, Chief Quality and Clinical Transformation Officer, Veale Distinguished Chair in Leadership and Clinical Transformation, attended the forum, convened by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Collectively, the health systems in attendance provide care to more than 30 million patients and employ hundreds of thousands of dedicated healthcare workers providing their service and expertise to adults and children living in both urban and rural communities across the country. Drs. Megerian and Pronovost were among those to commit to actions that support providing safe care and zero preventable harm for all.

“University Hospitals collaborated with Secretary Xavier Becerra in the foundational research leading to a Patient Safety framework published previously by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Since then, we have continued to stay engaged in the effort through participation in various listening sessions,” Dr. Megerian said.

UH was the only healthcare system in Ohio to make a formal written pledge to identify a path forward, stating:

• Our leadership team is committed to tracking and addressing harm; integrating patient advocates on our Boards; hiring human-centered designers to reduce hospital infections; training all staff in patient safety best practices, including appointing ambassadors to drive Zero Harm; and convening a leadership roundtable with chief quality officers across the country to shift the mindset from harm being inevitable to preventable.
• By leading with love, we aim to ensure all employees 1) feel empowered to achieve zero harm, 2) belong to a learning community that fosters innovation, and 3) build disciplined management and shared accountability systems. This approach will not only reduce harm, but lower costs for those who receive and pay for care.

“Patient safety events remain all too common and have been exacerbated by the pandemic and related workforce challenges throughout the past few years. It is thanks to our phenomenal caregivers that UH is not only being recognized for our national leadership, but for our proven expertise in making a difference in patient safety,” Dr. Pronovost said.