Mary Fruzia, a respiratory therapist with the Cardiopulmonary Department, was named Northeast's Patient Safety Coach of the Year, and Robin Ardoin, a speech and language pathologist at Memorial Hermann Northeast, was named Patient Safety Volunteer of the Year.
Fruzia and Ardoin were honored at a special breakfast which also paid tribute to Northeast's Patient Safety Coaches, a select group of employees who help their co-workers on safety issues and take the lead in preventing errors. They are role models who inspire their co-workers to create a culture of safety for our patients.
Fruzia was honored for "…always educating and quizzing her co-workers on patient safety issues…" while Ardoin was cited for volunteering her time to teach patient safety to new employees.
Fruzia and Ardoin received awards from Michael Shabot, MD, chief medical officer for the Memorial Hermann system.
Patient Safety Awareness Week occurs during the second week of March and is a national education and awareness-building campaign for hospitals throughout the country to improve and promote patient safety.
In the past year, Northeast and the Memorial Hermann System have received awards for their commitment to quality and patient safety. Northeast and the Memorial Hermann System received the Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Award from the TMF Health Quality Institute. The award honors Texas hospitals that are performing quality initiatives aimed at improving outcomes in patient care based on specific national quality measures. The Memorial Hermann system also was the first and only hospital system in Houston to receive the prestigious National Quality Healthcare Award from the National Quality Forum in Washington, D.C.
Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital employees Robin Ardoin (front left) and Mary Fruzia (front right) were recognized recently by System Chief Medical Officer Michael Shabot (back left) for their commitment to patient safety. Ardoin was named patient safety coach of the year and Fruzia was named patient safety volunteer of the year. Also pictured are Louis Smith, Northeast CEO, and Julie Darbonne, Northeast's patient safety officer.