Last week, on behalf of the Emily Jerry Foundation, I had the honor of returning to Purdue University College of Pharmacy to lecture in the Patient Safety and Informatics course (PHRM 868), taught by my good friend, Dr. Dan Degnan. This required course for all third-year PharmD students pursuing their doctorates, challenges future pharmacists to reflect deeply on their role in preventing harm and shaping a culture of safety in healthcare.
Standing before more than 150 students, I was humbled by their attentiveness and inspired by their clear sense of purpose. These young professionals will soon be making decisions that directly impact patients’ lives. They are the future leaders, advocates, and experts in medication safety, and their dedication gives me great hope for the future.
For me, these moments are deeply personal. I share Emily’s tragic story to provide the human side of patient safety that we can all relate to. Every one of us, and our loved ones, will receive healthcare at some point in our lives. That reality underscores why this work matters so much. My daughter’s life was cut short in 2006 by a preventable medication error, an event that is sadly not isolated, but part of a much larger issue claiming hundreds of thousands of lives each year in the United States. Errors like these are not inevitable, they are preventable. And “preventable” means they simply don’t have to happen.
That is why courses like Dr. Degnan’s are so critical. They do more than teach content, they shape mindsets, instill responsibility, and inspire future pharmacists to be guardians of safety at every step of the medication use process.
One student’s reflection from the previous lecture captured it perfectly:
“Chris’s story didn’t invoke fear, but responsibility. It pushed me to delve deeper into patient safety… to anticipate potential pitfalls before they arise.”
Another wrote:
“Through his words, passion, and hope I felt changed and motivated to honor Emily. It is my duty to change the system and spread awareness to prevent another occurrence like hers from happening again.”
To know that Emily’s legacy continues to resonate, and motivates real change, fills me with gratitude and determination to keep forging ahead together with our vital mission to save lives from preventable medication errors.
My heartfelt thanks to Dr. Degnan for inviting me back, and to the Purdue P3 students for your engagement. Your commitment assures me that Emily’s legacy, and the mission to achieve zero preventable harm, will live on in the lives you protect and ultimately end up saving.
Last Updated: September 22, 2025 by ejfadmin
Purdue University College of Pharmacy Lecture on Patient Safety
Last week, on behalf of the Emily Jerry Foundation, I had the honor of returning to Purdue University College of Pharmacy to lecture in the Patient Safety and Informatics course (PHRM 868), taught by my good friend, Dr. Dan Degnan. This required course for all third-year PharmD students pursuing their doctorates, challenges future pharmacists to reflect deeply on their role in preventing harm and shaping a culture of safety in healthcare.
For me, these moments are deeply personal. I share Emily’s tragic story to provide the human side of patient safety that we can all relate to. Every one of us, and our loved ones, will receive healthcare at some point in our lives. That reality underscores why this work matters so much. My daughter’s life was cut short in 2006 by a preventable medication error, an event that is sadly not isolated, but part of a much larger issue claiming hundreds of thousands of lives each year in the United States. Errors like these are not inevitable, they are preventable. And “preventable” means they simply don’t have to happen.
That is why courses like Dr. Degnan’s are so critical. They do more than teach content, they shape mindsets, instill responsibility, and inspire future pharmacists to be guardians of safety at every step of the medication use process.
One student’s reflection from the previous lecture captured it perfectly:
“Chris’s story didn’t invoke fear, but responsibility. It pushed me to delve deeper into patient safety… to anticipate potential pitfalls before they arise.”
Another wrote:
“Through his words, passion, and hope I felt changed and motivated to honor Emily. It is my duty to change the system and spread awareness to prevent another occurrence like hers from happening again.”
To know that Emily’s legacy continues to resonate, and motivates real change, fills me with gratitude and determination to keep forging ahead together with our vital mission to save lives from preventable medication errors.
My heartfelt thanks to Dr. Degnan for inviting me back, and to the Purdue P3 students for your engagement. Your commitment assures me that Emily’s legacy, and the mission to achieve zero preventable harm, will live on in the lives you protect and ultimately end up saving.
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Our Mission
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.
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