I
t is with great sadness that I write this message to the ASHRM membership. The death this spring of John Eisenberg, MD, the director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), from a brain tumor, ended a long career of an individual who was a champion for improving the quality of care in health care organizations through the application of evidence-based practices.
Dr. Eisenberg was an exceptional leader in the health care industry and particularly in the patient safety initiative. What an incredible role model for risk managers! Risk managers have not traditionally been viewed as leaders in patient safety or as leaders in health care organizations. It was this recognition that led Geri Amori, ASHRM past-president, down the path of promoting a partnership between ASHRM and Health Forum to develop The Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship.
Dr. Eisenberg's death gives each of us the opportunity to take a retrospective look at how we have contributed to the field of risk management. Can we point to what have we done or how we have impacted the field? Can we acknowledge that we have contributed at the state or local level or perhaps at the national level? What can we say about our commitment to the field? This is truly an opportunity for us to reflect on our legacy and to ask two questions: