Patient Safety Challenge Fellowship Approaches Finale Expo on August 14

The 19^th annual Patient Safety Fellowship hosted by the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative (PRHI), Jewish Healthcare Foundation, and Health Careers Futures is looking toward the future in a different way this summer. The newly minted Patient Safety Challenge Fellowship brings a competition into the mix, challenging participants to focus on healthcare transformation and redesign a safer healthcare system.

This year's 31 fellows formed 13 teams consisting of fellows and non-fellows with the goal of crafting a novel vision of health care starting from the patient/family perspective and designing it to be vastly safer for patients and healthcare workers.

Fellows have had access to mentors – nationally recognized leaders in patient safety - to help shape their vision over the summer. A total of 13 mentors are focusing on the seven dimensions that the fellows have been asked to address– accountability, workforce, healthcare delivery, technology, equity, safety, and patient and family engagement.

Mentors include: Bruce Block, MD, healthcare quality consultant, PRHI; Robert Ferguson, MPH, chief policy officer, JHF; Stuart Fisk, CRNP, director of strategy, Allegheny Health Network, Center for Inclusion Health; Martin Hatlie, JD, co-director, MedStar Institute for Quality & Safety; Ken Ho, MD, MPH, medical director, Pitt Men's Study, University of Pittsburgh; Emily Jaffee, MD, senior clinical program strategist, Highmark Health; Denise Johnson, MD, FACOG, FACHE, acting Secretary of Health and Physician General, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, MD, Med, MPPM, FACOG, chief clinical diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, Allegheny Health Network and Highmark; Ronald Poropatich, MD, director of the Center for Military Medicine Research, University of Pittsburgh; Mary Beth Navarra-Sirio, MBA, RN, vice president of product management and market development, UPMC Enterprises; Daniel Swayze, PhD, vice president of community services, UPMC Health Plan; Todd Wolynn, MD, president, Kids Plus Pediatrics and executive director, the Breastfeeding Center of Pittsburgh; Nick Vizzoca, MBA, president, Center for Healthcare Solutions. Mentors are meeting with fellow teams between July 17 to August 12 to provide feedback, insight, and direction to the fellows' ideas.

Patient Safety Challenge Fellowship participants engage with mentors during a session.

"The JHF Patient Safety Fellowship has been an opportunity to consider real potential solutions with heavy mentorship. This is a fulfilling experience that inspires the youth of today to continue coming up with creative ideas under the guidance of leaders within the field. I personally appreciate this platform as it gives me the opportunity to explore an idea that was limited to the classroom in real life," said Fellow Harshitha Ramanan, a Master of Health Administration student at Duquense University.

The Fellowship will conclude with the Health Care Redesign Expo & Award Ceremony on August 14 from 6-8 p.m. at the Energy Innovation Center in Pittsburgh. At the event, teams of fellows will showcase their ideas through interactive exhibits and a panel of judges will select the winner. The winning team will be announced at the event, receiving a $5,000 cash prize, and attendees can also vote at the event to determine the $500 People's Choice Award winner.

A total of five judges will assess the projects and identify a winner at the Patient Safety Challenge Fellowship Finale that will be held August 14 at the Energy Innovation Center. The judges include: Rick Cancelliere, CEO, Treatspace; Tina Hahn, VP, CIN development and value-based integration, Allegheny Health Network and Physician Partners of Western PA; Jim Jen, MA, MBA, founding managing director, AlphaLab; Tamara E. Minnier, MSN, RN, FACHE, FAAN, chief quality officer, UPMC; and Paul E. Phrampus, MD, CPE, FSSH, FACEP, CPPS, vice chair of quality and patient safety, Department of Emergency Medicine, UPMC.

The public is invited to attend the Health Care Redesign Expo & Award Ceremony at no cost. Complimentary food & drinks will be available. RSVP here.