WALL OF RECOGNITION
Every Hospital in the Nation Makes Mistakes
Some work to improve the safety of their communities.
PFPS US recognizes the individuals who work tirelessly to improve the safety in their hospitals for the patients they serve.
No hospitals are perfect but these individuals are working to make them so.
WHY WE RECOGNIZE
Three goals for this wall
1
Encourage those who work to improve safety
Safety work is often quiet and unseen. Naming the people behind it says that it matters.
2
Share successful ideas for improving safety
Every profile includes an idea that another hospital can borrow and adapt.
3
Raise the bar for implementation of the PSSM measures nationally
These examples show what the Patient Safety Structural Measure looks like when it is lived, not only attested.
THE WALL
Individuals making hospitals safer
Each profile shows what the work looked like, which PSSM domains it touches, and one idea you can take back to your own hospital.
PATIENTS AS PARTNERS IN DESIGN
Noel Belton & Shelley Gonzales
Patient & Community Partnerships Manager, and Patient and Family Advisory Council member
Alameda Health System, Oakland, CA
“PFAC creates the trust needed for patients to co-design solutions with leaders, not just provide feedback after decisions are made.”
Noel Belton
A patient advisor helped shape hand-hygiene signage so patients no longer have to challenge a clinician themselves, and advisors now sit on standing committees.
IDEA TO BORROW
Invite patient advisors into the room while a process is being designed, not after is decided.
Domain 5 - Patient & family engagement
Domain 2 - Strategic planning
SAFETY BY DESIGN
Cara Camiolo, MD
Chief Quality and Safety Officer
Intermountain Health, Utah & multi-state
“Every decision we make, whether it's to build a new unit, to bring new technology, to grow a program, all of those decisions have safety embedded from day one.”
Cara Camiolo, MD
Safety is treated as a design constraint on building, technology, and growth choices, backed by daily huddles and shared learning across every hospital in the system.
IDEA TO BORROW
Pair daily safety huddles with a way to send a fix found at one site to every other site.
Domain 1 - Leadership commitment
Domain 3 - Culture & learning
RESPONDING WELL WHEN HARM OCCURS
Quality & Patient Safety Leadership
Chief Medical Officer, Chief Quality Officer, and Patient Safety Officer
Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Honoree names to be confirmed
"...ensuring that safety is a core value and integrated into all aspects of their operations at all levels of the hospital."
How the 2026-2027 plan describes the PSSM
A board-governed quality and safety plan names the PSSM and covers every domain, from board oversight to non-punitive reporting to a Care Partner program.
IDEA TO BORROW
Map each section of your quality plan to a PSSM domain and name who reports it to the board.
All five domains
BUILDING IMPROVEMENT CAPABILITY
Hillary Jalon
Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer
NYC Health + Hospitals, New York, NY
“Those that do the work are the most well positioned to improve the work.”
Hillary Jalon
The Quality Academy is open to any employee, from nurses to hospital police, and its projects each carry a balancing measure. Safety culture scores rose 9–10% in the 2026 survey.
IDEA TO BORROW
Open improvement training to every job role, and require each project to track a balancing measure.
Domain 3 - Culture & learning
A PLAN BUILT ACROSS ALL FIVE DOMAINS
Deanna Tarnow, RN, CPHRM
Senior Director, Risk Management and Patient Safety
BETA Healthcare Group, Alamo, CA
"...honest and empathetic communication with patients and family members that demonstrates a culture shift toward greater transparency."
Beta Healthcare Group, describing BETA HEART
She leads BETA HEART, which asks hospitals to set a 60-minute goal for first communication with the patient and family after an adverse event, and to track how long it takes. It started with 21 members and now reaches over 90 organizations.
IDEA TO BORROW
Start a 60-minute clock for the first conversation with the patient and family, and measure it.
Domain 4 - Accountability & transparency
Domain 3 - Culture & learning