Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority Bids Farewell to Its Chair With Tribute in March Patient Safety Advisory

Dr. Ana Pujols-McKee is credited with helping the Authority broaden its activities beyond data collection and written guidance

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ana Pujols-McKee, M.D., former chair of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, is lauded for her leadership in the Authority's Patient Safety Advisory released today.

McKee resigned as chair of the Authority, February 1, 2011, to accept a position as executive vice president and chief medical officer of the Joint Commission in Chicago, Illinois. The Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies health care organizations and programs in the United States.

"Dr. McKee has been a tremendous asset to this organization and will be greatly missed," Mike Doering, executive director of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority said. "She has helped lay the groundwork for this organization to broaden its activities from data collection and written guidance into actual implementation of best practices through collaborations.

"During her tenure, the Authority has also won prestigious awards, begun the Patient Safety Liaison program, developed a website for healthcare providers to discuss patient safety issues and developed the only statewide repository for healthcare-associated infection reports," Doering added.

The Authority was in its second year of collecting event reports from Pennsylvania's healthcare facilities when McKee became chair in 2006. That same year, the Authority won the prestigious John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award for its data collection efforts and the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory.

"In her previous role as patient safety officer at the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Dr. McKee understood the importance of ensuring that collected patient safety data was used to inform providers and that the Advisory information was actually implemented and not just read," Doering said. "She realized the Authority was in a unique position to reach out to the Pennsylvania healthcare community through education and collaborative efforts.

"Recently the Authority received the distinguished Cheers Award from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices for its dedication to reducing medication errors.  As Dr. McKee begins a new chapter in her career, I have no doubt more awards and success stories are in the future, and I look forward to working with her again," Doering added.

A biographical sketch of Dr. Pujols-McKee follows. To read the complete tribute, go to the 2011 March Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory article "Authority Recognizes Departing Chairperson" at www.patientsafetyauthority.org.

ANA PUJOLS-MCKEE, M.D. (Biographical Sketch)

Ana Pujols-McKee, M.D., was appointed chair of the Patient Safety Authority by former Governor Ed Rendell on May 8, 2006. A physician with a specialty in internal medicine, Dr. McKee was Chief Medical Officer and Executive Director of the Presbyterian Medical Center of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. She is a graduate of Hahnemann University Medical School and holds an appointment as Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr. McKee, who previously served as medical director for the Philadelphia Health Department's free standing health centers, has been a strong advocate for improving access to healthcare resources for all members of the community. She has served on the Federal Drug Administration's Advisory Committee and on several committees of the National Institutes of Health. A former board member of the American Cancer Society and the Philadelphia AIDS Consortium, Dr. McKee also has served on the boards of the Wissahickon Hospice and the Pennsylvania Healthcare Cost Containment Council (PHC4).

SOURCE Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority