Listening Sessions Strengthen CASH’s Vision of a Safety-Focused Ambition Health System
Type: News
Focus Area: Patient Safety
Online listening sessions convened healthcare and patient safety leaders to discuss PRHI’s White Paper.
Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative (PRHI) convened a series of listening sessions the week of May 19 to receive feedback on the Coalition for Advancing Safer Healthcare’s (CASH) draft White Paper. The paper describes what “Ambition Health System” would look like if it were built from scratch in 2026 to prioritize patient safety based on the recommendations from the CASH partner hubs’ national work groups. It is intended to guide health systems’ boards and leadership in achieving their safety aspirations.
When the White House and Congress failed to create a National Patient Safety Board during the previous administration, despite bipartisan support in Congress, a strong recommendation from the President’s Council of Advisors on Safety and Technology, and a powerful national coalition, JHF was very disappointed. So, we asked ourselves, ‘what would a NPSB do if it did exist?’ We decided that it would assemble the best experts in the nation to recommend the most powerful solutions available now to prevent medical harm. So, we did that, and the recommendations were assembled into a White Paper that would be widely available.
Online listening sessions convened healthcare and patient safety leaders to discuss PRHI’s White Paper.
Jewish Healthcare Foundation and PRHI President and CEO Karen Wolk Feinstein, PhD presented the model of Ambition Health System and David Classen, MD, MS, Professor of Medicine at University of Utah, facilitated the discussion with the participants. Participants included health system leaders, board members, clinicians, patient advocates, purchasers and payers, researchers, policymakers, and representatives from national patient safety focused nonprofits.
The sessions created a valuable opportunity to test and strengthen the ideas in the paper. Participants offered candid feedback on what resonated most strongly, where additional clarity or practical guidance may be needed, and what concepts or priorities should receive greater emphasis.
“This was a wonderful opportunity for us to hear good ideas from so many different people committed to safety who viewed it from different perspectives, different positions, different parts of the U.S.,” Dr. Feinstein said. “It was also an opportunity to share notes and build more collaboration going forward.”
CASH is grateful to everyone who participated and contributed their expertise, experiences, and ideas. We would especially like to recognize Dr. Classen for his longstanding leadership and commitment to advancing patient safety nationally, as well as his leadership in guiding the listening session discussions.
The final white paper will be released on June 15 and will be widely available.
