A Wantagh mother who has been fighting against medical errors for more than a decade has been awarded a full scholarship to participate in a national patient safety fellowship.
Ilene Corina, the founder and President of PULSE of NY - a grassroots patient safety organization - will participate in the American Hospital Association Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship. The yearlong intensive learning program is designed to promote breakthroughs in safety practices. Fellows were selected based on proposals to enhance patient safety in their local communities. Ms. Corina proposed teaching consumers to advocate for their own healthcare before they become patients.
Ms. Corina’s proposal earned her an $18,000 scholarship from the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), and a $5,000 scholarship from North Shore-LIJ Health System on Long Island.
“Each year we confer one scholarship,” said Diane Pinakiewicz, President of NPSF. “We selected Ilene because she is a tireless and dedicated voice for patients and their families in a patient safety work. She adds valuable perspective to every initiative and will make wonderful contributions to the class.”
“Ilene Corina is a passionate, articulate advocate for patient safety who we've had the pleasure of working with for several years," said Kenneth Abrams, MD, senior vice president of clinical operations for the North Shore-LIJ Health System. "We're pleased to sponsor Ilene for this fellowship, recognizing the valuable role she has played in educating health care consumers."
Ms. Corina is the first Long Islander to receive the award. Since 2002, more than 250 Fellows from 165 organizations have participated.
“I am honored to be selected and extremely grateful to my sponsors for making this possible,” said Ms. Corina. “I look forward to the opportunity to learn from the best minds in health care, and to apply that knowledge to projects aimed at reducing medical errors.”
PULSE of NY was founded in 1997 by Ms. Corina, a devastated mother of a 3-year-boy who died from avoidable medical errors. Her son, Michael, bled to death following a routine tonsillectomy. Her pain connected her with other grieving parents whose children had been harmed by healthcare. She formed the first support group in 1998. As PULSE’s numbers grew, so did its voice. Today, PULSE encourages hospitals to tell families what happened when mistakes occur, instead of forcing them to wait years to find out through legal procedures. The group trains patients and their families to partner with medical professionals to reduce errors.
The Fellowship was developed by Health Research and Educational Trust, Health Forum, and NPSF, in partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA), the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM), and the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM).
Ilene Corina has won numerous awards for her work. She is a board member of the Joint Commission and speaks at medical facilities and conferences throughout the country about the patient’s role in patient safety. A nationally recognized advocate for patient safety, Ms. Corina has appeared as an expert on CNN, Fox News, and other television and radio news shows. She has also appeared in Child Magazine, Health Magazine, Long Island Newsday, New York Daily News, Washington Post, American Medical News and Modern Healthcare. Her work has been published by the American Journal of Nursing and Perioperative Nursing Clinics.
For immediate release: July 13, 2009 Contact: Laura D’Angelo ldangelo@optonline.net, 516-655-1207