Author: Mike

Safety Equals Trust with PPAHS: RT Sidebar Podcast

By Michael W. Wong, JD (Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

I was honored to be a guest on RT Sidebar, a place to facilitate dialogue regarding the respiratory therapist profession hosted by Vapotherm.

On the podcast, I talked about why I set up the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety and the key patient safety initiatives like the Enhanced Respiratory Care program. Here are highlights from that podcast:

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How We’re Strengthening Nonprofits

In this article, Carly Roman-Woo, PhD (Program Officer, Archstone Foundation) discusses how their volunteer platform has helped the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety.

By Carly Roman-Woo, PhD (Program Officer, Archstone Foundation)

At Archstone Foundation, we are committed to fostering the health and well-being of all older Californians and their caregivers by ensuring they have the resources and support they need to live and age well. One way we achieve this is by strengthening those organizations dedicated to serving the people we care most about.

All too often, nonprofits work tirelessly to fulfill their missions with limited staff and modest budgets, which don’t leave them with adequate time or resources to focus on building their own capacity or infrastructure to serve their communities more efficiently and effectively. That is why we have committed to meeting these organizational needs. Given that we receive many more requests for capacity building grants than we can fund directly, we sought a solution to address this critical gap in resources for aging services organizations.

Enter Catchafire, a game-changing way to provide nonprofits pro bono expertise from skilled professionals.

To read our article on volunteering with PPAHS, please click here.

To read the entire article, please click here.

Warren Barr South Loop Receives Respiratory Accreditation for Patient Safety and Patient Care

Skilled nursing facility Warren Barr South Loop awarded Enhanced Respiratory Care accreditation from the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety.

The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) is pleased to announce that Warren Barr South Loop in Chicago, IL has met or exceeded the Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards of Care for accreditation.

Receiving the Enhanced Respiratory Care Accreditation demonstrates Warren Barr’s continued commitment to patient safety and patient care. The Enhanced Respiratory Care program integrates best practices for ventilator support by emphasizing patient safety and patient care through evidence-based strategies, which includes: specialized training for respiratory therapists advanced weaning techniques, patient-centered care, and state-of-the-art ventilator technology, all to promote comprehensive care and optimal outcomes for patients requiring long-term mechanical ventilation.

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A Promise to a Mother: Inside Malpractice with Chris Rokosh, RN, PNC(C)

By Michael W. Wong, JD (Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

14 years ago, I made a promise to Cindy Abbiehl, a mother who had lost her daughter to opioid-induced respiratory depression.

How and why I started the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) are discussed in this recent podcast with Chris Rokosh, RN, PNC(C). Chris has created a wonderful and informative series of podcasts “Inside Medical Malpractice”.

In “Inside Medical Malpractice”, Chris (President, CEO, and Founder of Connect Experts) explores the often misunderstood but fascinating world of medical malpractice with a variety of guests, from experienced lawyers to patients, and medical experts in the most sophisticated and complex areas of healthcare.

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I’ll Do What I Can: Speaking at the Ohio Consensus Conference on Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression

By Michael W. Wong, JD (Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

“I’ll do what I can”

I said to Cindy Abbiehl and her husband, Brian, “I’ll do what I can” after hearing that their daughter Amanda had died from opioid-induced respiratory depression.

Now, I realize that in social encounters, we often say things that we eventually do not follow through with. After all, we often say things like “we should do coffee one day” but don’t schedule time for coffee or “we should stay in touch” but don’t phone, email, or text to keep in touch.

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This Giving Tuesday, Let’s Continue Improving Patient Safety Together

This December 3, 2024, is Giving Tuesday! We invite you to join us in furthering our mission to improve patient safety globally.
The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) is proud to be ranked as a top-100 international patient safety organization dedicated to advancing patient health and safety. This year, we’ve made tremendous strides in enhancing care standards, thanks to the generous support of individuals like you:

Our Enhanced Respiratory Care Program has accredited healthcare facilities across six different states so far, ensuring they meet or exceed the national standard of care for mechanically ventilated patients. More facilities are going through quality reviews and clinicians are improving their respiratory practices through our continuing medical education (CME) courses. , These accreditations and certifications directly contribute to reducing adverse events and improving patient outcomes.
We proudly co-hosted the 2024 Global Sepsis Alliance Conference, addressing the critical issue of sepsis diagnosis and therapy. With over 12,000 attendees from 185 countries, our collaborative efforts are making a global impact. Moreover, our sepsis CME courses are the first time CME credits have been offered at the Global Sepsis Alliance.

Giving Tuesday 2024

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How Chronic Pain Affects Your Mental Health

By Eric Larson, PMHNP-BC (Larson Mental Health)

The revolution of mental health awareness in recent years has made countless positive strides in bringing the wellbeing of our minds to the forefront of the cultural conversation. However, the focus on psychological wellbeing may also be widening the gulf many people perceive between the mind and the body. Too often we fail to view the mind as a part of our body, not a separate entity. Your mindset is directly impacted by your physical health, and your physical health can change with your mindset. The human brain is more powerful than we give it credit for, but other components of the human body can still impact the way our brains function.

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Moving Toward Better Care for Mechanically Ventilated Patients

In this article published in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, Mahlet Mitiku Desalegn, MD (Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College) discusses how the quality of care can be improved for mechanically ventilated patients.

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The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety Expands Board of Advisors with Five Healthcare Industry Leaders, Enhancing Commitment to Patient Safety and Innovation

It is with great enthusiasm that the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health and Safety (PPAHS) welcomes five new members to its Board of Advisors. Collectively, these appointees bring to the Board a diverse wealth of experience from fields across the healthcare industry, including pharmacovigilance, public health, strategic planning and communications, healthcare startup venture investment, and the insurance payer sector.

In its 13-year history, the PPAHS Board of Advisors has consisted of clinicians and patient families. These most recent appointments complement and broaden current Board expertise, and in turn, expand PPAHS’s reach as a patient-safety authority.

PPAHS Executive Director and Founder, Michael Wong, JD, shared, “I am exceptionally pleased to have this team of esteemed professionals as the latest addition to the PPAHS Board. Though all new members individually represent a different corner of the healthcare landscape, each stood out in recruitment efforts due to their commitment to moving the needle on patient safety.”

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Showing Up for Sepsis: Dr. Amy Campbell Speaks at UN General Assembly Week

By Michael W. Wong, JD (Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

Dr. Amy Campbell Speaks in Support of the 2030 Global Sepsis Agenda

Amy Campbell, Ph.D., RN, CPHQ, LSBB (Quality Nurse Specialist, ECU Health) is always showing up for sepsis!

When I mentioned to Dr. Campbell, who is also the chair of our Sepsis Advisory Board, that the Global Sepsis Alliance had invited me to speak at the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, I was not thinking that she would come and speak at the event. Well, perhaps I was hoping she would, but the distance between North Carolina and Manhattan is more than 500 miles (entailing more than a 9-hour drive or an almost 2-hour flight).

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