Karen Feinstein Delivers Keynote to Hundreds of Physicians at the Ogden-Surgical Medical Society Conference

On May 17, Karen Wolk Feinstein, PhD, president and CEO of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation and Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative, gave a keynote address at the Ogden Surgical-Medical Society's annual conference in Ogden, UT, the longest ongoing medical meeting in the western United States.

Hundreds were in attendance in the full ballroom at her keynote address. Attendees of the conference include physicians, surgeons, physician assistants, nurses, social workers, advanced practice clinicians, and nurse practitioners specializing in surgery. The conference's key focus on patient safety in primary and medical care.

Dr. Feinstein's presentation focused on the Foundation's 25-year commitment to patient safety and the March reintroduction of the National Patient Safety Board Act, legislation to establish a public-private research and development team within the Department of Health and Human Services that is solely dedicated to preventing and reducing healthcare-related harms. She highlighted how this landmark bipartisan legislation is a critical step to improve safety for patients and healthcare providers by adopting patient safety solutions. Dr. Feinstein also detailed JHF and PRHI's other patient safety initiatives including the Patient Safety Technology Challenge, the RAPS initiative, and learnings from the Safety Innovation Summit.

Following her presentation, Dr. Feinstein held a book signing for Moving Beyond Repair: Perfecting Health Care.

Other keynote speakers included Mike Eisenberg of Tall Tale Productions, director of To Err is Human and JHF's new documentary The Pitch: Patient Safety's Next Generation; Joshua Morris, speaker and entrepreneur who was the lead international team coordinator between the Thai government and rescue divers in the Thai Caive Rescue in Mae Sai in 2018; and Ron Kline, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Quality Measurement in the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The four-day Ogden Surgical-Medical Society (OSMS) conference features national and local experts discussing patient safety, primary care, and current medical topics. Attendees gained insights into specialty medicine, current medical challenges, opioid education, and medical cannabis laws. The conference also included hands-on labs, quality improvement project presentations, and comprehensive education aimed at enhancing patient treatment and management.