Children's Hospitals' Solutions for Patient Safety Announces New Board of Directors to Guide National Effort to Eliminate Serious Harm in all Children's Hospitals

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Children's Hospitals' Solutions for Patient Safety

Jun 24, 2015, 08:56 ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Children's hospital leaders from across the country gathered for the first-ever Board of Directors meeting of Children's Hospitals' Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS) on June 9, following appointment of the board by Ohio Children's Hospitals' Solutions for Patient Safety.

The 11-member board, which will oversee and advise the activities of SPS, consists of SPS network hospital CEOs and other leaders, as well as a family/patient representative. The newly appointed board includes the following individuals:

Michael Fisher, President & CEO, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Chair
Steve Allen, MD, MBA, CEO, Nationwide Children's Hospital
George S. Barrett, Chairman & CEO, Cardinal Health
Madeline Bell, President & COO, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Christopher G. Dawes, President & CEO, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford
Patricia M. DePompei, RN, MSN, President, UH/Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital
Marcella (Marcy) L. Doderer, FACHE, President & CEO, Arkansas Children's Hospital
Sandra L. Fenwick, President & CEO, Boston Children's Hospital
Rick W. Merrill, President & CEO, Cook Children's Health Care System
Beth Daley Ullem, President, Quality and Safety First
Katy Welkie, CEO, Primary Children's Hospital

"As this organization continues to evolve and grow in both numbers and impact, it is only fitting that our governance structure continues to change to meet the network's needs and best serve patients in our hospitals," said Nick Lashutka, SPS president. "This particular group of leaders will keep us on the path of transformation that we've begun – and continue to push us to work even more vigilantly toward our goal of eliminating all serious harm in children's hospitals."

SPS is working to achieve specific goals to reduce harm in children's hospitals through the transparent sharing of data, successes, and learnings. Having already saved approximately 3,700 children from harm and prevented an estimate of $79 million in costs from the healthcare system with their collaboration, SPS hospitals are working to reduce certain hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent, reduce readmissions by 10 percent and through partnership with the Child Health Patient Safety Organization (PSO), reduced serious safety events by 25 percent. SPS began in Ohio in 2009 as a network of eight children's hospitals. SPS has now expanded to more than 80 hospitals across North America, all focused on reducing serious harm and building a "culture of safety" within each hospital. More information about SPS is available at www.solutionsforpatientsafety.org.

SOURCE Children's Hospitals' Solutions for Patient Safety