PSQH: The Podcast Episode 94 – How Nurses Are Leading Patient Safety Innovation

On episode 94 of PSQH: The Podcast, Patricia McGaffigan, vice president, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and Dina Dent, vice president and chief nursing officer at Inova Health System, talk about the IHI’s nurse-led pilot rapid-cycle improvement program.

Patricia McGaffigan and Dina Dent

Patricia A. McGaffigan, RN, MS, CPPS, Vice President, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), is IHI’s senior sponsor for the National Steering Committee for Patient Safety and President, Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety. She is the former Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Safety Programs at the National Patient Safety Foundation. McGaffigan is a Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS), a graduate of the AHA-NPSF Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship Program, and a member of the Joint Commission National Patient Safety Committee, the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety Editorial Advisory Board, and the Advisory Committee of the Coalition to Improve Diagnosis. She serves as a Board Member of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors and on Planetree’s Person-Centered Certification Committee. McGaffigan represents IHI on numerous committees, taskforces, and professional panels and is a frequent speaker at national and regional conferences. A recipient of the Lifetime Member Award from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, she received her BS in Nursing from Boston College and her MS in Nursing from Boston University.

Dina Dent, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer, Inova Health System. Dr. Dent is a Nurse Executive with 26 years’ experience in broad administrative, operations, lean methodology and clinical experience. Her experience includes Public Safety-Net, large Academic Medical Centers and Community hospitals. She has led strategic business planning to drive organizational success and achieve goals through a demonstrated expertise by developing and implementing facility safety policies and procedures while maintaining compliance with regulatory guidelines. Dr. Dent is currently the Chief Nursing Officer of Inova Fairfax Medical Campus in Fairfax, Virginia, where she leads nursing operations for the largest hospital in Northern Virginia. In this capacity, she is responsible for shaping the organization’s nursing strategy and ensuring the highest standards of quality patient care. Dr. Dent has a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Southeastern University of Louisiana, a Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of West Georgia and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Norfolk State University. She is a Board-Certified Advanced Nurse Executive through AACN and active in several nursing and executive organizations.

Listen to the episode below: