AHA Launches Symposium for Healthcare Quality Leaders to Increase Patient Safety Improvements

To further cement its commitment to improve quality and patient safety in America’s hospitals, the American Hospital Association is launching a new forum – the Symposium for Leaders in Healthcare Quality (SLHQ). SLHQ provides healthcare improvement professionals a setting to collaborate and share best practices to improve quality and patient safety.

“Quality improvement is a main focus for hospitals and health care systems,” said Rich Umbdenstock, AHA president and CEO. “America’s hospitals are committed to building on the improvements they have already made by engaging in both national initiatives and individual improvement efforts. SLHQ gives them a network through which they can collaborate and share best practices.”

Members of SLHQ have access to cutting-edge research and education, innovative professional development opportunities and a robust peer-to-peer learning network to help them provide safe, high quality care for patients. The forum is designed to reach both leadership and front-line caregivers who engage in performance improvement activities. SLHQ will engage professionals across the care continuum including in hospitals, long-term care facilities, ambulatory care centers and other care delivery settings.

“SLHQ is a community of innovative health care professionals committed to improvement and excellence,” said Maulik Joshi, Dr.P.H., senior vice president of AHA and president of AHA’s Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET). “It provides a foundation for the numerous quality efforts already underway across the country by building a powerful network to expand the transformation of health care.”

The forum will be managed by HRET, an affiliate of the AHA. It will build on the ongoing work of many of HRET’s national quality improvement projects, such as the Hospital Engagement Network, the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) and TeamSTEPPS® that collectively have already improved care for thousands and saved millions in related costs.

For more information or to become a member of SLHQ, visit www.aha-slhq.org.