The Authority Plans Enhancements to its Patient Safety Liaison Program and Announces Two New Patient Safety Liaisons

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Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority

Aug 10, 2016, 10:51 ET

HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New leadership at the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority will mark a period of change for the Authority, including enhancements to its Pennsylvania Patient Safety Liaison (PSL) Program.

The Authority's PSL program, which offers guidance, organizes educational programs, encourages collaboration, and petitions feedback from Pennsylvania healthcare facilities that report Incidents and Serious Events under the MCARE Act, is in its eighth year and now serves approximately 570 acute licensed healthcare facilities across the state.

New Patient Safety Liaisons for the Southeast Region of Pennsylvania.

Regina Hoffman, executive director of the Authority, who has openly expressed her vision of using innovation to reduce harm to patients throughout the Commonwealth, has empowered the Authority's new director of outreach and education, Michelle Bell, to further engage Pennsylvania's healthcare workforce.

"The Patient Safety Liaison program has been considered the outreach arm of the Authority, and we will continue to function in that capacity," says Bell. "However, the program must continue to evolve in response to the needs of the healthcare facilities that we serve."

Notable changes to the PSL program include six-month-long topic concentrations, targeted engagement towards facilities who express a need for additional resources, an intentional focus on the importance of reporting, and the utilization of the Authority's data analysis and educational tools.

Amid the PSL program developments, the Authority welcomes two new PSLs to the Southeast region of Pennsylvania: Catherine Reynolds, DL, MJ, BSN, RN, and Christopher Mamrol, BSN, RN.

Catherine is an accomplished healthcare and patient safety professional with over 17 years of experience. She has served as a registered nurse and quality improvement coordinator in a number of Philadelphia area hospitals and most recently as patient safety manager for the Einstein Healthcare Network.

Catherine is a member of the Pennsylvania Rural Urban Leadership Program and has been published in both the Patient Education and Counseling Journal and The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.

Christopher brings a unique perspective to patient safety, in that his early career was focused in the behavioral health field. Christopher worked at Montgomery County Emergency Services, Inc. serving as psychiatric technician. He transitioned into managing multiple roles as a safety & quality systems director, risk manager/patient safety officer, and performance improvement director.

Christopher is a member of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, the National Patient Safety Foundation, and is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

Learn more about Pennsylvania Safety Liaisons by region.

About the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority: The Authority was established under Act 13 of 2002, the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error ("Mcare") Act, as an independent state agency. The Authority is charged with taking steps to reduce and eliminate medical errors by identifying problems and recommending solutions that promote patient safety. For more information about the Authority, please visit our website at www.patientsafetyauthority.org or call 717-346-0469.

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SOURCE Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority