All that is necessary for the triumph of evil...
... is for good men to do nothing.
Edmund Burke
Patients Speak Out
Senator Willems' Mission to STOP Patient Deaths due to Medical Errors. Presented at joint British Medical Journal (BMJ) / Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) conference, held in Amsterdam, April 2011: http://internationalforum.bmj.com/2011-forum/2011-forum/
Letter to Senator Harkin: Transparency of TJC - The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and Subsidiaries (click for more information on JCAHO) - Signed by over 50 Patient Safety Organizations and Advocates.
Read Letter: In HTML FormatIn PDF Format
Petition for Newborn screening for Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD), using pulse ox. Read letter to Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services -
Read Letter
Dennis Quaid's two children victims of massive drug overdose at Cedars-Sinai
Following the near-death experience of his infant twins resulting from a medication error, he has initiated a call to action for healthcare leaders to invest in patient safety. The objective is to inspire the audience to act in their own communities or at their own hospitals.
Q: What Scares Doctors? A: Being the Patient - Time Magazine, April 20, 2006, by Nancy Gibbs and Amanda Bower - Read Article
The Waits That Matter NEJM - June 15, 2011 by John Maa, M.D.-
Read Article
Waiting Room Poll Strikes a Nerve - By Peggy Peck, MedPage Today
July 15, 2011 - Read Article
PULSE - Persons United Limiting Substandards and Errors - www.pulseamerica.org
PULSE is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization working to improve patient safety and reduce the rate of medical errors using real life stories and experiences.
Mothers Against Medical Errors (MAME) - Lewis Blackman, a healthy, gifted 15-year-old, underwent elective surgery at MUSC. In one of the state's most modern hospitals, he bled to death over 30 hours while those caring for him missed signs that he was in grave peril. Read More
Citizens for Patient Safety - Citizens for Patient Safety is a global grassroots organization. Our agency builds alliances between and within diverse communities united in a common purpose by building bridges between consumers, the medical community, insurance and the legal community to improve the healthcare system and quality that patient's receive. Read More
Michael Bennett - President of the Coalition for Patients' Rights (CPR). Mr. Bennett lost his father due to an infection he received at the hospital. Since then, CPR has worked diligently to pass Federal and State laws to reduce infections in hospitals so that other patients will not die from similarly preventable causes. Mr. Bennett is a nationally recognized patient safety advocate.
John James PhD – Chief Toxicologist at the National Space Center, Dr. James lost his son following a medical error. Since then, Dr. James published his book, A Sea of Broken Hearts, for physicians to learn from this tragedy. Dr. James is a prominent member in America's Patient Safety Movement and works with the Institute of Medicine to find solutions to the epidemic of medical errors and complications. http://patientsafetyamerica.com
Barbara (Bee) Becker - Ms. Becker is the Vice-President of Hospice Patients Alliance and is a devoted patient advocate who works tirelessly to help patients and families all over the USA. Ms. Becker's 83 year old mother-in-law, Helen, was assaulted in a nursing home and later died from the injuries. Ms. Becker testified to Congress on March 4, 2002. Ms. Becker is also the national spokesperson for SafetyForum NHAAG - Nursing Home Abuse Action Group.
Consumers Union to Rate Hospitals - Wall Street Journal, May 29, 2008, by Anna Wilde Mathews Read Article
Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center agrees to $1-million settlement for dumping patient on skid row - LA Times, May 31, 2008 Read Article
Voice4Patients.com - "A Voice for Patients" has been designed to educate patients and consumers (potential users of the healthcare system) on the national epidemic of healthcare error.
NPSF - National Patient Safety Foundation - www.npsf.org