Helen Haskell, president of Mothers Against Medical Errors and co-founder of the Patient Safety Action Network, was honored by the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM) with the Patient Engagement Award for Diagnosis. SIDM is focused on eliminating patient harm from diagnostic error. Helen does research on the patient role in diagnosis, headed the … Read More

Two days before Christmas 2014, my 88-year-old dad was unexpectedly taken to the emergency room at a West Des Moines, Iowa hospital. Shortly after his arrival, he passed away. No family members were allowed to be with him in his final minutes of life. A week following his death, a completed death certificate stated the … Read More

When my 15 year old son, Gary, was screaming in pain from complications from Crohn’s Disease in the ER, a young doctor injected him with something that instantly calmed my son’s out of control pain. I didn’t ask what it was because I was grateful that he finally seemed comfortable. An hour later, my son … Read More

People ask me what I would do to help stop Hospital acquired infections. It’s been 10 years today since my father died of HAI. Right after he was infected with MRSA, I started researching the causes, the prognosis, the incubation period, prevention, spread and prevalence of these infections. The subject is complex and broad, but … Read More

Marshall Allen shared a link October 10 at 8:00 AM ​Hi everyone! We are making a big announcement today: We are officially handing off the ownership of this group to the advocates from the Patient Safety Action Network! As many of you know, ProPublica started this Facebook group in 2012 when I embarked on a major project … Read More

The Bleeding Edge, a Netflix Original documentary due to be released on July 27th, highlights four medical devices: Essure, metal-on-metal hip implants, pelvic mesh, and the da Vinci surgical robot. One of these devices, Essure, has changed the course of our lives. Essure has taken us on a path we could have never imagined. From … Read More

The most gratifying and inspiring part of my Patient Safety work is when I can help someone who has been harmed by their healthcare. Although I am a retired RN, I certainly do not have all the answers to people’s questions. That is where my expert patient safety colleagues come in. https://www.patientsafetyaction.org/ Last week a … Read More

Why do we advocate? I have asked myself this question many, many times. As patients and consumers, we all know that advocating for patient safety is not easy. Most of us are never paid for our volunteer work. Yet, we spend countless hours educating ourselves and the public on patient safety issues; we do this … Read More

Five years ago this summer while under deep anesthesia for arm surgery number 3, I drifted above the line and joined the group called numerators. I awoke with a Hospital Acquired Infection. Numerators are the most diverse minority group on Earth, our members include, every race, every creed, every color. Some are very old, sadly … Read More