PRHI Discusses Strategies to Elevate Patient Safety
Type: News
Focus Area: Patient Safety
Debra Caplan speaks to the PRHI Board.
At its March 25 Board meeting, the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative (PRHI) convened national experts and regional health system leaders to advance the work of the Coalition for Advancing Safer Healthcare (CASH), with a focus on how to effectively engage healthcare boards and executives in driving patient safety.
Drawing on national research, peer benchmarking, and local experience, the PRHI Board and its guests explored how health systems can better measure performance, engage leadership, and accelerate meaningful change.
Karen Feinstein emphasized that CASH’s efforts are reaching a critical stage as recommendations from its five working groups are being coalesced into a white paper developed to inform health system boards and executive leadership. The white paper will outline a vision for a high-performing, safety-centered health system and provide practical guidance to help organizations achieve best-in-class safety outcomes. Dr. Feinstein also shared early insights from CASH’s business case advisories, underscoring the growing recognition that safety is both a moral imperative and a strategic priority. She noted that the work increasingly points toward the need for system-level transformation that moves beyond isolated improvements to coordinated, enterprise-wide approaches to safety.
Julie Cerese, PhD, RN, group senior vice president at Vizient, shared findings from over 20 years of research at Vizient on high-performing health systems, emphasizing that culture, leadership, and accountability—not structure or technology alone—drive quality and safety outcomes. Top organizations are defined by a strong, patient-centered mission, aligned leadership, and a continuous push to improve.
Dr. Cerese highlighted the critical role of engaged boards, noting that those who use transparent data, prioritize ongoing education, and hold leadership accountable are key to sustained performance. Ultimately, long-term success depends on deep alignment between governance, leadership, and frontline teams around clear, measurable goals. Vizient’s findings reinforced that sustained improvement requires coordinated action across the entire system mirroring the direction of the CASH work.
The PRHI Board welcomes President and CEO of UPMC Leslie Davis to the meeting. Pictured (L to R): Michael Ginsberg, Mark DeRubeis, Danny Rosen, Leslie Davis, Karen Feinstein, Debra Caplan, Steve Irwin, and Paul Phrampus.
Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, emphasized the importance of transparency and public reporting in driving patient safety, noting that when performance is visible, it fosters accountability, informed decision-making, and improvement across health systems. She also highlighted that clear, consumer-facing metrics motivate both leadership and clinicians by creating shared understanding and healthy competition around safety.
A panel of regional healthcare leaders provided further insight into how safety is prioritized and integrated into health systems. Leslie Davis, president and CEO of UPMC, UPMC Board member and former JHF Board Chair Debra Caplan, MPA, Board Chair at UPMC Presbyterian Craig Esterly, and UPMC Vice President and Chief Quality Officer Nathan Evans, MD, discussed evolving expectations around safety performance, the role of data in decision-making, and what types of information and recommendations are most effective at the board level.
A central focus was the use of transparent, real-time data to align boards, executives, and clinicians around a shared understanding of performance. Leaders emphasized that sustained improvement depends not only on measurement tools, but on culture and the willingness to confront gaps openly and act on them. This shared emphasis across speakers highlighted a clear convergence: system-wide transparency and alignment are foundational to driving safer care.
The conversation also highlighted the growing importance of board engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and patient-centered design. Participants reflected on the challenges facing large health systems—including complexity, workforce pressures, and legacy structures—while expressing optimism about new opportunities enabled by data analytics, technology, and innovative care models.
The meeting concluded with a forward-looking discussion on designing safer, more responsive health systems based on the initial learning from CASH. This included everything from reimagining care delivery and discharge processes to incorporating patient voices and leveraging AI to support continuous improvement. These concepts reflect a shift toward whole-system approaches to safety, consistent with the themes raised by both Vizient and Leapfrog.
The insights gathered from the meeting will directly inform the development and dissemination of the CASH white paper, helping to ensure its recommendations are practical and actionable for health system leaders. Both health system executives and board members agreed that the CASH work group contributions would be valuable as they move forward on their safety journey.
