August 20, 1997 — Safety experts, consumer advocates, health care providers, lawyers and others have come together to work toward safer care in one of the most diverse health care organizations ever established. They are among board members of The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) whose appointment was announced today by NPSF. The Foundation is an unprecedented initiative to improve health care safety by studying errors in our health care system and implementing safeguards to prevent patient injury. NPSF Board members represent every major segment of the health care system, as well as employers, medical ethicists, public health advocates and distinguished scientific research institutions.

“The exceptional diversity of this board, drawn from groups and communities that rarely work together, underscores our common interest and reflects a spirit of openness and collaboration which is most exciting,” said Nancy W. Dickey, MD, NPSF Board Chair and President-Elect of the American Medical Association (AMA). “Each of us has a different perspective, but we are united in our determination to ensure that all patients in all settings receive health care safely,” she said.

To date, the NPSF has raised more than $4 million in operating and research funds. In addition to funding support from the AMA, which launched the NPSF, $1 million grants have come from founding sponsors 3M Corporation and CNA HealthPro. Substantial donations have also been made by DuPont Merck, Hoffmann-La Roche, Kaiser Permanente, Merck & Co. Inc., MMI Companies, Physician Insurers Association of America, Pfizer Inc., Schering Plough Corporation, and Hoechst Marion Roussel.

(NOTE: An NPSF Board member list is attached. A list of Board member quotations is available upon request. A media briefing will be held in New York on October 9, 1997.)

• Johnnie Amonette – AMA Alliance
• Donald M. Berwick, MD – Institute for Healthcare Improvement
• Marjorie Beyers, RN – American Organization of Nurse Executives
• D. Bruce Burlington, MD – FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health
• Sara C. Charles, MD – University of Illinois, Chicago
• *Richard I. Cook, MD – University of Chicago
• Louis Diamond, MD – The Medical Society of District of Columbia
• *Nancy W. Dickey, MD – AMA President-Elect
• Linda L. Emanuel, MD, PhD – AMA Institute for Ethics
• Mark Eppinger, MS – Annenberg Center for the Health Sciences
• Donald J. Fager, JD – Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Company
• Timothy T. Flaherty, MD – AMA Trustee
• *Steven S. Fountain, MD – Physician Insurers Association of America
• Mark S. Frankel – American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Paul Frisch, JD – Oregon Medical Association
• *Linda Golodner – National Consumers League
• Paul A. Gluck, MD – American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists
• *Doni Haas, RN – Martin Memorial Health System
• Brent C. James, MD – Intermountain Health Care
• Jon E. Krupnick, JD – Krupnick Campbell Malone Roselli Buser Slama &Hancock
• David J. Lansky, PhD – Foundation for Accountability (FACCT)
• *Lucian L. Leape, MD – Harvard School of Public Health
• *Carol Ley, MD – 3M Corporation
• Jonathan T. “Jack” Lord, MD – American Hospital Association
• George Lundberg, MD – Journal of the AMA
• *James W. Macdonald – CNA HealthPro
• *Henri R. Manasse, Jr., PhD – American Society of Health System Pharmacists
• Joyce M. McChesney, MD – Medical Society of New York
• John J. Nance, JD – ABC News Aviation Editor
• Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD – AMA Council of Scientific Affairs
• Margaret O’Kane – National Committee for Quality Assurance
• Gary S. Kaplan, MD – Virginia Mason Medical Center
• Dennis O’Leary, MD-Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations
• Larry I. Palmer, JD – Cornell University Law School
• Donald J. Palmisano, MD, JD – AMA Trustee
• Donald Parsons, MD – Kaiser Permanente
• *Ellison C. “Jeep” Pierce, Jr., MD – Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation
• *Diane Pinakiewicz – Schering-Plough Corporation
• Carson Porter, JD – Arent Fox
• *John C. Rother, JD – American Association for Retired Persons
• Mary Woolley – Research!America

* Indicates Executive Committee members
** Indicates Committee and Council Chairs:
1. Research Committee
2. Communications Committee
3. Education & Liaison Committee
4. Prevention & Implementation Committee
5. National Health Care Safety Council