Bridge Medical Joins National Patient Safety Foundation and 34 Organizations in Convening Historic Congress During National Patient Safety Awareness Week
As President George Bush said, in a speech this week in Washington to the
American Medical Association's National Advocacy Conference, "Patient safety is
improved when doctors and nurses exchange information about problems and
solutions." That's exactly what will happen Mar. 12-15 at the Renaissance
Washington D.C. Hotel. Healthcare professionals from a variety of disciplines
will "exchange information" on keeping patients safe . . . as Bridge Medical --
the nation's leading patient safety software company -- joins the National
Patient Safety Foundation and 34 organizations in hosting the Fifth Annual NPSF
Patient Safety Congress.
The Congress is being held in concert with National Patient Safety Awareness
Week -- a national education and awareness-building campaign for improving
patient safety at the local level -- celebrated Mar. 9-15. This year's theme:
"Communication and Partnership: Safety Starts with All of Us."
"That's what President Bush was talking about," said Carol A. Ley, MD, MPH, who
chairs the board of NPSF, an organizational founder of Patient Safety Awareness
Week (PSAW). "It starts with us communicating and exchanging information."
"We are honored to have Secretary Thompson join us on Mar. 13 as our keynote
speaker. His 'View from the Top' will be perfect for this year's Congress theme:
'Let's Get Results: Improving the Safety of Patients.'" The HHS secretary is
expected to review the federal government's leadership in improving patient
safety, and outline federal legislative, regulatory, research and technical
assistance initiatives designed to help physicians, providers and patients
enhance the safety of U.S. healthcare. Ley, is director, occupational medicine,
at 3M in St. Paul, Minn., one of the founders of NPSF.
Other speakers include experts from the country's leading hospitals and health
systems, as well as such organizations as the American Nurses Association,
American Society for Healthcare Risk Management, Colorado Patient Safety
Coalition, Institute for Safe Medication Practices, Leapfrog Group,
Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors, National Quality
Forum, Niagara Health Quality Coalition, PULSE of Colorado and the Foundation
for Healthy Communities.
The NPSF Congress -- formerly known as the Annenberg Conference -- has
historically attracted a diverse healthcare audience, including executives and
department chairs; patient safety officers, quality directors and risk
management officers; chief information officers; chief nursing and medical
officers; and pharmacists, physicians, nurses and other clinicians. This year,
the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) will for the first time
collaborate with NPSF to conduct two mini patient safety courses on Mar. 12
before the Congress officially begins with a 6 PM "Welcome Reception." (IHI
President and CEO Donald Berwick, MD, MPP, is one of NPSF's "distinguished
advisors.")
On Mar. 14, attendees will have an opportunity to find out how to use lessons
learned in other industries to improve patient safety . . . then laugh at all
the serious challenges healthcare faces. First, Secretary of the Treasury Paul
O'Neill will share his experiences as chairman of Alcoa, where his advocacy for
a safe workplace led to phenomenal improvements in Alcoa's safety performance.
Later that evening, the nationally known "Capitol Steps" -- a group of
Congressional staffers-turned-comedians--will address the humorous side of
healthcare with their scathing songs, skits and parodies.
More than 40 safety-minded organizations and vendors -- including the Maryland
Hospital Association/Quality indicator Project, the Safety Institute at Premier,
U.S. Pharmacopeia, the VA National Center for Patient Safety and Bridge Medical
(Booth #144) -- will be exhibiting at the Congress.
About NPSF
The National Patient Safety Foundation was founded in 1996 by the American
Medical Association, CNA HealthPro, 3M, and contributions from the
Schering-Plough Corporation. An independent, nonprofit research and education
organization, NPSF is an unprecedented partnership of healthcare practitioners,
institutional providers, health product providers, health product manufacturers,
researchers, legal advisors, patient/consumer advocates, regulators and
policymakers committed to making healthcare safer for patients. Through
leadership, research support and education, the NPSF is committed to making
patient safety a national priority.
The NPSF web site offers a variety of educational tools to help hospitals build
partnerships with patients in their communities, and both teach and encourage
patients to become more involved in their own health care.
NPSF's "Stand Up for Patient Safety" campaign helps hospitals and health systems
both observe National Patient Safety Awareness Week and mobilize to take
concerted action to reduce medical errors.
On the Net: NPSF site: http://www.npsf.org On the Net: Congress site:
http://www.mederrors.org/program.html About Bridge
Bridge Medical, Inc. -- an AmerisourceBergen company (NYSE:ABC) -- is
headquartered in Solana Beach, Calif., and has been educating healthcare
professionals about medication errors and their prevention since the company was
founded in 1996.
AmerisourceBergen is based in Valley Forge, Penn. On the Net: Bridge Medical
site: http://www.bridgemedical.com
NOTE: For a full text of President Bush's remarks on patient safety and health
information technology, visit http://www.bridgemedical.com/patient_gwb.shtml
CONTACT: Bridge Medical
Carol Somer, 858/314-5538
858/204-7424 (cell)
csomer@bridgemedical.com
or
NPSF
Carole Breckbill, 312/464-5672
cbreckbill@npsf.org
Carol Lieser, 760/770-0288
760/578-5756 (cell)
clieser@npsf.org.