AHA Names University Hospitals 2022 Leader in Quality

From Left to Right: Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD, Chief Quality & Clinical Transformation Officer; Cliff Megerian, MD, FACS, Chief Executive Officer, Jane and Henry Meyer Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair; Karen Boyd, System Director, Quality Improvement & Quality Institute Operations; Michelle Hereford, RN, MSHA, System Chief Nurse Executive, Ethel Morikis Endowed Chair in Nursing Leadership.

Industry’s most prestigious award recognizes leadership and innovation in quality and performance improvement

Last week, the American Hospital Association (AHA) – health care’s premier national trade association, representing more than 5,000 hospitals and health systems – announced that University Hospitals is the 2022 winner of its prestigious Quest for Quality Prize.

A multi-disciplinary committee of health care quality and patient safety experts selected UH for exemplary achievements related to quality, safety and equity. AHA applauded UH’s Zero Harm initiative and recognized our commitment to transparency and a ‘speak up’ culture; our efforts around justice, equity, diversity and inclusion; and our passion for building connections with our communities.

AHA noted that the UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Ahuja Center for Women and Children could serve as a national example of an innovative and effective model of patient, family and community support. They also highlighted UH Food for Life Markets and other non-traditional health care initiatives aimed at improving workforce opportunity and health equity in habitually marginalized communities.

Cliff Megerian, MD, FACS, receives the Quest for Quality Prize from the American Hospital Association.

“UH is a jewel in our community, with a 156-year legacy of providing unparalleled, patient-centered care for all. It is an especially proud moment for us to have the AHA recognize our efforts to serve,” said Cliff A. Megerian, MD, FACS, UH Chief Executive Officer, Jane and Henry Meyer Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair.

“The fact that our caregivers have earned this highest praise at a time when many were emotionally exhausted by the pandemic and stretched to the limits from staffing shortages, underscores the strength, resilience and dedication of our team to innovate, uphold our steadfast focus on quality and safety, and care for our patients no matter what.”

On Monday, Dr. Megerian accepted the award at the AHA Leadership Summit in San Diego where he also delivered an address about leading in a time of crisis. Also in attendance, Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD, UH Chief Quality & Clinical Transformation Officer, led a panel discussion about UH’s quality program.

UH previously won the AHA’s top award, then known as the AHA-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize, in 2012.