For Immediate Release
In-Flight Methods Help Improve Hospital Patient Care
Former Astronaut Shares Insight at ASQ Healthcare Conference
Milwaukee, Wis., February 27, 2007 – What do an operating room and cockpit have in common? More than you may think, as an increasing number of healthcare professionals throughout the US are learning about and incorporating patient safety procedures that have been used successfully in the aviation world.
Dr. F. Andrew Gaffney, senior vice chair for clinical services at Vanderbilt University MedicalCenter, well-known cardiologist and former space shuttle astronaut will share insights on this topic at a reception Monday, April 30, at 6 p.m. at the Rosen Centre Hotel, Orlando, Fla. Dr. Gaffney’s presentation is part of the American Society for Quality’s (ASQ) 2007 Quality Institute for Healthcare (QIHC) which runs April 30 – May 2 at the Orange County Convention Center.
Dr. Gaffney is a partner in LifeWings, an organization that specializes in bringing the safety culture and practices of aviation and the space industry to healthcare organizations. An active researcher as well as clinician, Dr. Gaffney became a living science experiment in 1991 when he was blasted into orbit aboard the space shuttle Columbia to gather data about the body’s behavior in space.
Sister Mary Jean Ryan Debuts New Book
On Tuesday, May 1, from 11:30 a.m. - noon at QIHC, Sister Mary Jean Ryan, president and CEO of SSM Health Care (SSMHC), will host a signing event for her new book, On Becoming Exceptional: SSM Health Care’s Journey to Baldrige and Beyond. SSM Healthcare is one of the largest Catholic healthcare systems in the United States and the first healthcare organization to win a Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award.
“Both Dr. Gaffney and Sister Mary Jean Ryan are dedicated and highly influential quality/patient safety leaders and we are honored to have them present at this year’s conference,” said Dr. Martin Merry, program committee chair for the 2007 QIHC.
The Quality Institute for Healthcare will be held concurrently with the ASQ World Conference on Quality and Improvement. The QIHC welcomes all healthcare leaders and quality practitioners – from administrators and managers to clinical directors – who are interested in developing the quality improvement skills and knowledge needed to successfully manage a complex healthcare environment.
Participants attending this year’s Institute will also have access to select sessions and other activities of the ASQ World Conference on Quality and Improvement. To learn more and to register for the Quality Institute for Healthcare, please visit http://qihc.asq.org.
The American Society for Quality www.asq.org is the world's leading authority on quality. With more than 90,000 individual and organizational members, the professional association advances learning, quality improvement and knowledge exchange to improve business results, and to create better workplaces and communities worldwide. As champion of the quality movement, ASQ offers technologies, concepts, tools and training to quality professionals, quality practitioners and everyday consumers, encouraging all to Make Good Great®. ASQ has been the sole administrator of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award since 1991. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., the 60-year-old organization is a founding partner of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a prominent quarterly economic indicator, and also produces the Quarterly Quality Report.
