UF Health Jacksonville honors 2023 awardees for patient safety efforts
UF Health Jacksonville today awarded six recipients for their patient safety efforts across the world with the 2023 Robert Wears Patient Safety Award.
The award is named in honor of Robert L. Wears, M.D., Ph.D., M.S., for his pioneering work to improve patient safety. Dr. Wears was an emergency medicine physician in the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville for nearly three decades and transformed patient safety research.
The award honors winners in four categories who have significantly impacted the field of patient safety through critical analysis, research, education or knowledge dissemination
“Dr. Wears’ work in patient safety was groundbreaking, and those honored with this award in his name have continued that legacy, focusing on programs and procedures that advance this crucial initiative,” said Steven A. Godwin, M.D., FACEP, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at UF Health Jacksonville. “They should all be incredibly proud of continuing down this path. Their work helping patients in hospitals, homes and elsewhere is crucial to improving health care delivery and positively impacting patient outcomes.”
This year’s winners, awarded at a virtual awards presentation today, are:
Individual:
Dr. Kathryn Kellogg, VP of Patient Safety & Infection Prevention, MedStar Health, Maryland
Joe Kiani, Chairman and CEO, Masimo, California
Organization:
Dr. Saravana Kumar (India) and the International Federation of Emergency Medicine and Quality/Patient Safety Special Interest Group
Team:
Dr. David Nash and Charles Wohlforth, Pennsylvania
Volunteer:
Anna Palmisano, M.D., Maryland
Dr. Wears provided mentorship and guidance to an array of healthcare providers pursuing careers in safety science, and during his long career served on the editorial boards of 10 major medical and patient safety journals and was a reviewer for dozens more. The award named in his honor was established in 2018 to single out health care professionals who significantly impact the field of patient safety though critical analysis, research, education or knowledge dissemination.