NQF names 2009 Eisenberg patient-safety winners

Three doctors, a hospital and a research collaborative were named recipients of the annual John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality awards, given by the National Quality Forum and the Joint Commission.

Gary Kaplan, a physician with the Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, was named for individual achievement. Kaplan helped to lead efforts at the hospital to create the Virginia Mason Production System based on quality techniques from the automotive industry. Tejal Gandhi, a physician with Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, was awarded for her research on safety issues in the outpatient setting and use of information technology to design improvements.

A third physician, Noreen Zafar, was given the international award for her work in promoting wellness among women and encouraging them to take more control over their healthcare. The international award is a new category this year. Mercy Hospital Anderson, Cincinnati, won the innovation award at the local level for developing an early-warning system that helps medical staff evaluate a patient's vital signs and determine whether the condition is deteriorating.

For innovation at the national level, the award was given to the Michigan Health & Hospital Association Keystone Center for Patient Safety & Quality. The center's quality-improvement collaborative has led to two intensive-care-unit interventions that have helped to reduce central line-associated bloodstream infections in the state, according to a news release.