An incredible article by a true patient safety advocate, Institute for Safe Medication Practices president Michael Cohen. I am incredibly thankful for the continued support he has shown our foundation and our mutual cause. Hopefully this article will touch and inspire those who it reaches.
Click on the image below to download a pdf of the actual newspaper clipping.
I received the following very nice note from Ken Hale at OSU’s Pharmacy department and wanted to share some of the awesome comments our engagement received from students…
Hi Chris.
One of our faculty members, Bonnie Spiers, collected reflections from our pharmacy students who attended your program at Ohio State on November 21st. I found their feedback to be very thoughtful and encouraging. I thought you might like to see a few specific comments:
“This lecture was beyond beneficial to my future career as a pharmacist. I will take the things I learned through this program and keep them in my mind for the rest of my life as a health care provider.”
“This talk was extremely moving. It changes how I view my future career as a pharmacist”
“This is one event that was especially touching, and I know I will carry it with me throughout my career. It opened my eyes to realizing each medication is for a person, and each person is loved.”
“This lecture was one of the most interesting, inspiring, and heartfelt events that I have ever experienced.”
“This event was extremely unique, and seeing the two of them together (Chris Jerry and Eric Cropp) advocating for safety and awareness was inspiring.”
“I loved this lecture! The College of Pharmacy should do this every year.”
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So, as you can see, it seems you achieved your goals in speaking with these future health professionals.
An awesome blog post by Dr. Tim Vanderveen of CareFusion. I had the pleasure of meeting Tim after the ISMP speech and it was a great experience. We hope to team up early next year on an exciting webcast. As always, I’ll keep you updated via our website. Now without further ado, here is Tim’s blog posting…
Monday, December 12, 2011
A tipping point for preventing IV compounding errors
Dr. Tim Vanderveen – Vice President, Center for Safety and Clinical Excellence, CareFusion
Last week, I attended the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear Annual Meeting in New Orleans. While there, I attended the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) CHEERS awards dinner – an annual event to honor individuals, hospitals and companies who have made a difference in patient safety. The dinner event included a speaker, Christopher Jerry, who came to tell the story of his daughter, Emily, a victim of a fatal IV chemotherapy compounding error. Emily was receiving her last round of chemo when the pharmacy technician used 24% saline to compound Emily’s chemo dose instead of the 0.9% saline that was ordered. In an earlier blog, I discussed the second victim of a medication error – the clinician. Eric Cropp, the pharmacist who checked Emily’s chemo dose faced criminal charges and served a six-month jail sentence followed by six-months of house arrest. Partnering with ISMP, the CareFusion Center for Safety and Clinical Excellence hosted a recent webcast that discussed the error and Eric’s experience during his jail sentence.
I am honored to have been asked by the President of ISMP, Michael Cohen, to be their keynote speaker at the 14th Annual ISMP Cheers Awards and Dinner at ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting. The following is excerpted from a letter by Michael Cohen…
“We at the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) are delighted that you have agreed to be the keynote
speaker at the 14th Annual ISMP Cheers Awards and Dinner on Tuesday, December 6, 2011. The event will be held at the New Orleans Board of Trade, 316 Board of Trade Place, New Orleans, Louisiana during the 2011 American Society of Health‐System Pharmacists Midyear Clinical Meeting”.
Below is a downloadable pdf flyer that details the ISMP event. Click on the image to download…
I gave a lecture last Monday, November 21st, at Ohio State’s College of Medicine in Columbus. Eric Cropp and I did this lecture together and everything went extremely well. We had over 130 students in attendance from OSU’s medical and pharmacy schools. I always look forward to these types of lectures and presentations to our future leaders in medicine. Read the amazing testimonial from Kenneth M. Hale the Assistant Dean for Professional and External Affairs, and Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Administration. It is truly one of our most powerful recommendations to date!
Thanks to all who were in attendance.
Click the image below to download a pdf of the testimonial…
A great heartfelt article was recently written by Michael Cohen, President of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), a non-profit healthcare organization that operates the voluntary and confidential ISMP Medication Error Reporting Program. I am very proud to be affiliated with their organization. Together we can truly change things for the better…
A dad embraces the pharmacist responsible for his daughter’s death
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2011
Emily Jerry was just two years old when she died from a medication error made by a hospital pharmacy technician in Cleveland. She had undergone surgeries and four rounds of chemotherapy to treat what doctors said was a highly curable malignant tumor at the base of her spine.
According to her parents, Emily’s previous treatments had been so successful that her last MRI showed that the tumor had miraculously disappeared. This last treatment on her second birthday was just to be sure that there were no traces of cancer left inside of her. Tragically, the technician mixed her final dose of chemotherapy improperly, in a saline solution that was 23 times more concentrated than it should have been.
The Emily Jerry Foundation is determined to help make our nation’s, world renowned, medical facilities safer for everyone, beginning with our babies and children. We are accomplishing this very important objective by focusing on increasing public awareness of key patient safety related issues and identifying technology and best practices that are proven to minimize the “human error” component of medicine. Through our ongoing efforts The Emily Jerry Foundation is working hard to save lives every day.
Thank You So Very Much for Your Support! ~Chris Jerry
We'd love to hear your stories and comments. Together we can save lives.
