June 17, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Lisa Huddleston, Manager of Communications
Health Council Presents Patient Safety Award
Dr. Stephen Muething’s Quest: “Keep ‘em Safe”
Stephen Muething, MD, assistant vice president for Patient Safety and patient safety officer at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC), is the 2009 recipient of the Greater Cincinnati Health Council’s Richard M. Smith, MD Leadership in Patient Safety Award. Muething accepted the award at the Health Council’s annual meeting on June 11 at the Cintas Center.
Dr. Muething’s devotion to patient safety issues has been evidenced by a myriad of activities, including leading successful internal initiatives to increase transparency and to involve families in patient safety. For instance, he advocated for the hospital’s internal website to display a patient safety tracker for employee reference. The tracker is updated daily, reports the number of days since the last serious safety event, links to details about the event, and includes the resulting action plan. Also, Dr. Muething developed a new family rounding process that enhances daily communications among a patient’s team of providers.
Additionally, Dr. Muething writes a weekly patient safety column for CCHMC’s online employee newsletter, ending each column with what has become his hallmark phrase: “Thanks, and keep ‘em safe.”
And, he currently serves as a coach and senior advisor on patient safety initiatives underway in other Tristate hospitals. Moreover, outside Greater Cincinnati Dr. Muething collaborates on improvement initiatives taking place throughout the United States and in London.
Prior to joining CCHMC in 2000, Dr. Muething owned a private pediatric practice in Batesville, Indiana for 13 years.
The Health Council has presented the award annually since 2003, in memory of Richard Smith, MD, a tireless proponent of patient safety. It is given to a health care professional who exemplifies Dr. Smith’s dedication and commitment to patient safety, works to communicate the importance of making patient safety an organizational priority, and serves as an outstanding role model for those working to enhance the safety of patients not only within an organization, but also the greater community.
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Health Council president Colleen O'Toole, PhD (left), presents the Richard M. Smith
Leadership in Patient Safety Award to Stephen Muething, MD on June 11.