Dear Colleagues:

What can we do to leverage our skills, experience, talent and commitment to ensure the safety and well being of all of our patients? How can individual physicians, surgeons, researchers and other care providers shift a culture to ensure a renewed focus on these issues? How can one organization impact an entire profession?

The answers exist within the walls of Brigham and Women’s Hospital. It is easy to cite those areas in which our hospital excels. There are numerous rankings, statistics and other measures of success. Yet, we have endeavored to move beyond these programs to dedicate ourselves to a new level of commitment to error prevention and patient safety.

Every patient who walks through our doors should understand that commitment. It is built upon a foundation of exceptional research and innovation and we are crafting a tradition that will propel our organization forward.

Whether we are walking through simulated surgeries in our operating rooms or reviewing cases in which complications could be prevented in the future, our systematic focus remains keen on developing strategies to address this critical component of our mission.

The provision of quality care means more than offering state-of-the-art practice. It means practicing state-of-the-art medicine with an understanding and appreciation for the safety of each of our patients.

Sincerely,

Lawrence H. Cohn, MD
Chairman, BWPO