SaferCare Texas

SaferCare Texas’ Clinical Executives Earn Patient Safety Credential

SaferCare Texas’ team expands patient safety knowledge to eliminate preventable harm

Fort Worth, TEXAS, July 17, 2020 – The Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety (CBPPS) recently recognized Teresa Wagner, DrPH, MS, CPH, RD/LD, CPPS, CHWI, DipACLM, CHWC, and Kate Taylor, DNP, FNP-C, CPPS, of SaferCare Texas as Certified Professionals in Patient Safety (CPPS). 

“Earning this credential attests to Dr. Wagner’s and Dr. Taylor’s professional competencies in patient safety science and application,” said Patricia McGaffigan, RN, MS, CPPS, President, CBPPS. “This achievement demonstrates their expertise in this critical discipline and positions them among those committed to and leading patient safety work.”

Wagner and Taylor earned this credential in part by passing a rigorous, evidence-based examination that tests candidates on their competency in patient safety science and application. Wagner and Taylor are currently employed as Clinical Executives at SaferCare Texas, the patient safety division at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.

“This designation signals Dr. Wagner’s and Dr. Taylor’s true commitments to and leadership in quality and patient safety,” said John Sims, Director of SaferCare Texas. “They continue to exhibit SaferCare Texas’ mission to eliminate preventable harm through their efforts to improve patient safety within geriatrics and health literacy.”

For more information about the CPPS credential, contact the Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety at (617) 391-9927 or write to cpps@ihi.org.

About CBPPS
The Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety (CBPPS) was established by the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) as a separate organizational entity in 2012. Effective May 1, 2017, NPSF merged with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). CBPPS was created to advance, standardize, and promote patient safety knowledge competencies for health care professionals. To this end, successful completion of the rigorously-designed Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) exam attests to candidates’ knowledge of essential patient safety competencies, upon which time the board confers the CPPS credential. Those attaining the CPPS designation represent a group of committed professionals from across health care who are determined to advance the patient safety field and make the health care system safer for all. To learn more, go to http://www.ihi.org/cpps.

About SaferCare Texas
A department within the UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth, SaferCare Texas was founded in response to the national challenge to improve patient safety and eliminate preventable harm. Through professional and community education, applied research, and quality improvement projects, SaferCare Texas identifies opportunities to eliminate medical errors and assure all patients receive the safest care. SaferCare Texas includes diverse health care and related institutions throughout the region, as well as fellows and scholars who represent a broad array of health care professionals, patients, and advocates. Learn more at Safercaretexas.org

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UNTHSC PILOT PROGRAM EQUIPS THE NEXT GENERATION OF SAFETY LEADERS

SaferCare Texas generates a future vision of patient safety

FORT WORTH, TEXAS, September 10, 2019– Ten UNT Health Science Center students made history by completing the Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) pilot program, a unique collaboration between UNT Health Science Center, SaferCare Texas, and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).  

The CPPS credential distinguishes health care professionals who demonstrate competency in the following patient safety domains: culture, leadership, risks and solutions, measuring and improving performance, and systems thinking and design/human factors. The pilot is the first program nationally specifically offered to provide qualified medical students an opportunity to prepare for the CPPS certification exam.

“Ensuring future providers understand critical concepts related to patient safety is an essential part of their learning experience,” said Lillee Gelinas, MS, RN, CPPS, FAAN, Senior Fellow at SaferCare Texas, who led the CPPS review course pilot. “We chose to implement the CPPS pilot program to help qualified candidates prepare for the certification exam by reviewing the key domain content areas and test-taking strategies.”

IHI’s CPPS credential is the leading health care interprofessional certification specific to the field of safety. More than 3,000 professionals have earned the CPPS credential, representing all 50 states and 17 countries. Achieving certification demonstrates personal and professional commitment to the patients and families who trust providers and health care professionals to do no harm while compassionately providing evidence-based care.  

“IHI’s mission is to improve health and health care worldwide, and the CPPS credential helps fulfill that mission by setting standards for the field,” said Patricia McGaffigan, RN, MS, CPPS, IHI’s Vice President of Patient Safety Programs and President of the Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety. “The CPPS course pilot group can truly be called innovators. We welcome these participants to the patient safety community and know they will change health care for the better.” 

Sponsored by SaferCare Texas, the pilot was conducted with 10 Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM) students who are members of the IHI Open School – Fort Worth Chapter.  To qualify, participants met IHI’s CPPS requirements and SaferCare Texas’ criteria for selection into the course.  The students received a scholarship from SaferCare Texas to cover the costs of the review course, practice exams, and the certification exam. 

“With an estimated 440,000 deaths occurring every year from preventable errors, it is critical that future health care professionals, like myself, take patient safety seriously,” said Heather D. DeVille, MS, CPPS, OMS-II, TCOM student and IHI Open School Fort Worth Chapter President. “I’m looking forward to sharing the strategies and lessons learned throughout this course with my peers and future organizations.” 

SaferCare Texas plans to expand this program into other colleges and schools across UNT Health Science Center’s campus. If you would like more information, please contact Katie Shanklin at katie.shanklin@unthsc.edu

About SaferCare Texas

A department within the UNT Health Science Center, SaferCare Texas was founded in response to the national challenge to improve patient safety and eliminate preventable harm. 

Through professional and community education, applied research, and quality improvement projects, SaferCare Texas identifies opportunities to eliminate medical errors and assure all patients receive the safest care. SaferCare Texas includes diverse health care and related institutions throughout the region, as well as fellows and scholars who represent a broad array of health care professionals, patients, and advocates. Learn more at Safercaretexas.org

About UNT Health Science Center

UNT Health Science Center is one of the nation’s premier graduate academic medical centers, with six schools that specialize in patient-centered education, research and health care.With a passion for teamwork and innovation, UNTHSC is driven to improve the human condition. For more information, visit https://www.unthsc.edu/

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