Synopsis

Under the leadership of Paul F. Levy, the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston engaged in a program to eliminate preventable harm to patients, with a remarkable level of transparency to the public about the hospital’s progress towards that goal. Key to that effort was creating a culture in the organization that relied on many of the principles set forth in the RCH Compact, i.e., respect, collaboration, and cooperation across the spectrum of doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, and administrative and logistical staff, with strong support from the hospital’s Executive team and the RCH Foundation. Mr. Levy will reflect on that experience, but he will also expand on the topic to offer a set of core competencies that, he will suggest, are necessary conditions for progress in achieving higher levels of patient quality and safety.

Speaker

Paul F. Levy was President and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center from 2002 to 2011. This academic medical centre, affiliated with Harvard Medical School, is known for state-of-the art clinical care, research, and teaching. Mr. Levy is a regular visitor to Victoria, having served as Thinker in Residence at Deakin University and having provided workshops, training, and program evaluation at a number of the state’s hospitals.  He is Honorary Professor with the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, and Visiting Professor at the Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College in London. Before BIDMC, Mr. Levy was Executive Dean for Administration at Harvard Medical School. Prior to that, he was on the faculty of MIT, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, and Chairman of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities.