National leader in quality and patient safety tapped as Tufts Medical Center's new Chief Medical Officer

BOSTON, April 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tufts Medical Center has appointed Saul N. Weingart, MD, PhD of Newton, Mass. as its next Chief Medical Officer.  Weingart is a nationally renowned leader in the movement to improve hospital quality, currently serving as Vice President for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. He recently received one of the highest quality awards in the country, the John Eisenberg Award for Patient Safety and Quality from the national Quality Forum and The Joint Commission.

Weingart succeeds Michael Wagner, MD, FACP who was named Chief Executive Officer of the Tufts Medical Center Physicians Organization last year, and has continued to fill the CMO role during the search for his successor.

"Dr. Weingart is a respected and talented leader with a passion for continuous quality improvement; his personality and energy will be a great addition to the dedicated team of physicians, nurses and staff at Tufts Medical Center," said Eric Beyer, President and CEO of Tufts Medical Center.  "Tufts Medical Center has been recognized nationally by organizations including University HealthSystems Consortium and LeapFrog. Dr. Weingart is a physician who will accelerate our accomplishments on behalf of patients and families."

"Saul Weingart is a name that is synonymous with quality, innovation and patient safety. I am extremely pleased that his name now will also be associated with Tufts Medical Center," Wagner said. "I know Dr. Weingart will do an incredible job continuing initiatives already launched at Tufts Medical Center and establishing new projects and goals for our future."

"It is a privilege to join the Tufts Medical Center community," said Dr. Weingart.  "I look forward to working with Tufts' extraordinary staff to continue the organization's rich tradition of superb patient care, research, and education."

While at Dana Farber, Weingart led a series of quality and safety initiatives that had significant impact on the organization. He implemented infection control enhancements, including universal influenza vaccinations for staff – improving compliance from 58 percent to 100 percent in four years. Under his leadership, Dana-Farber achieved its highest-ever patient satisfaction scores from Press Ganey, a national organization enabling patients to rate hospitals' care. He created and oversaw a research program focused on ambulatory medication safety, information technology and patient engagement, securing $1.7 million in grants to fund the program. Prior to joining Dana-Farber, Weingart was director of patient safety in the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He earned his bachelor's degree from Cornell University, his PhD from Harvard, and his MD from the University of Rochester. At Dana-Farber, he has continued an active clinical practice in internal medicine and the care of adult survivors of pediatric cancers. He will also see patients with Tufts Medical Center's General Medical Associates.

Weingart is nationally recognized for his efforts in patient safety. He is the current Chair of the National Patient Safety Foundation's Board of Governors, and in 2008 he was given the foundation's Socius Award, honoring work that promotes positive and effective partnering between patients/families and providers in pursuit of improved patient safety. He is on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health. He was recently named to the Patient Engagement Advisory Panel of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.  Dr. Weingart served on the editorial boards of the International Journal for Quality in Health Care and the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.

About Tufts Medical Center
Tufts Medical Center is an exceptional, not-for-profit, 415-bed academic medical center that is home to both a full-service hospital for adults and Floating Hospital for Children. Conveniently located in downtown Boston, the Medical Center is the principal teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine. Floating Hospital for Children is the full-service children's hospital of Tufts Medical Center and the principal pediatric teaching hospital of Tufts University School of Medicine. For more information, please visit www.tuftsmedicalcenter.org.  

SOURCE Tufts Medical Center