About PFPS US

Our Vision

A world in which no one is harmed in healthcare and every patient receives safe and respectful care, every time, everywhere. 

Our Mission

To implement in the United States the recommendations of the World Health Organization Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030.

Our Commitment


PFPS US is committed to supporting partners, policies, and protocols which ensure that both health equity and patient safety standards are incorporated across all healthcare, public health, and industry platforms for a safer and healthier system for all.


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Who We Are

Patients for Patient Safety US (PFPS US) is a network of people and organizations aligned with the World Health Organization (WHO) and focused on making healthcare safe in the United States. Led by people who have experienced medical error as a patient or in our families, we are activated to advance the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030 approved by the World Health Assembly in May 2021.

Our Founding Members

Our Executive Leadership Team Members

Martin J. Hatlie

Martin J. Hatlie

mhatlie@pfps.us

Carole Hemmelgarn

Carole Hemmelgarn

chemmelgarn@pfps.us

Armando Nahum

Armando Nahum

anahum@pfps.us

Sue Sheridan

Sue Sheridan

ssheridan@pfps.us

Beth Daley Ullem

Beth Daley Ullem

bdullem@pfps.us

Martin J. Hatlie

Martin J. Hatlie

Carole Hemmelgarn

Carole Hemmelgarn

Armando Nahum

Armando Nahum

Sue Sheridan

Sue Sheridan

Beth Daley Ullem

Beth Daley Ullem

Why We Are Different

As engaged patient safety advocates for many years, we see too little progress in meeting the goals set forth 20 years ago in the 1999 call to action, To Err is Human. We now believe the private-public partnership entrusted to take on the 3rd largest cause of preventable death in the United States and substantially improve patient safety is too fractured to meet the challenge.


In alignment with the World Health Organization’s Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030, we call upon policymakers and healthcare leaders to engage with urgency and be accountable for preventing avoidable harm.  We pledge to work with leaders who have the courage to implement a nationwide approach to patient safety in partnership with the patient and family community. We support initiatives to set forth standards, enforce them, invest in research and innovation, be transparent, continuously learn, and provide fair remedies when people experience avoidable harm caused by actions or failures to act responsibly.

Who Do We Include

  • Patient Safety Activists

    Individual people who


    • Support the PFPS London Declaration
    • Are oriented to the WHO Global Patient Safety Action Plan
    • Are active in achieving implementation of the WHO Global Patient Safety Action Plan in the USA
    • Act consistently with WHO rules and guidelines governing the PFPS program
  • Civic and Government Partners

    • Non-profit organizations
    • Research organizations
    • Government entities
    • Educational organizations
    • Accreditors
    • Philanthropies
    • Other civic organizations that commit by leadership action or board resolution to work cooperatively with Patient Safety Activists to implement the WHO Global Patient Safety Action Plan in the US
  • Healthcare Partners

    • Healthcare provider organizations
    • Product manufacturers or distributors
    • Other civic organizations that commit by leadership action or board resolution to work cooperatively with Patient Safety Activists to implement the WHO Global Patient Safety Action Plan in the US

Our Goals in the United States

  • Create Skilled Communities

    • Identify, recruit and train a diverse corps of patient and family advocates (especially those who have been harmed from unsafe care) and those who represent them such as civil society and patient organizations
    • Identify and forge strategic partnerships with  healthcare leaders (policy makers, researchers, accreditors, healthcare system leaders, clinicians, guideline developers, quality measurement developers, etc.)
    • Promote principles of successful public/patient and family engagement
  • Engage Community

    • Awareness raising, presentations and campaigns
    • Policy
    • Guideline development
    • Organizational design and governance
    • Medical professions education
    • Research
    • Patient information materials on clinical procedures and education on patient safety
    • Host national workshops and events with patients, family members, patient organizations and healthcare leaders to share experiences and expectations of the patient community and to plan the implementation of the Global Patient Safety Action Plan.
  • Disseminate/Communicate

    • Share successes/stories and lessons learned where patients, family members and other partners were pivotal in co-developing patient safety improvement efforts
Annual Report

Patients For Patient Safety US is proud to announce it's first

Annual Report for 2021 / 2022


Implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Patient Safety Action Plan in the United States.


Read Full Report

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