GNYHA and the United Hospital Fund (UHF) recently hosted the first Clinical Quality Fellowship Program (CQFP) alumni reception at the Harvard Club of New York. The event advanced the program’s mission of creating a network of quality leaders in the New York metropolitan region. The evening included a reception, keynote address, and time to connect with colleagues—including alumni, faculty and mentors, and UHF and GNYHA staff.
CQFP alumni gather for a group photo.
CQFP Chair Rohit Bhalla, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President, Clinical Affairs and Quality & Chief Clinical and Quality Officer, Stamford Health, described the evolution of the program. He noted that while it initially focused on filling a void in quality and safety training for physician leaders, it now also seeks to attract advanced practice providers. In addition, CQFP is eyeing the outpatient setting and considering adding domains beyond quality and safety.
Joan Guzik, Director, Quality and Efficiency, UHF Quality Institute, noted that CQFP has begun focusing on equity, saying, “We constantly try to ensure the program meets your needs and the needs of the communities you serve.”
Erin DuPree, MD, GNYHA’s Senior Vice President and Physician Executive, Quality and Clinical Initiatives, said, “Our future lies in our ability to collaborate and adapt, to succeed and thrive and be changemakers.” She discussed the possible expansion of CQFP in the future, noting the priority is to ensure that the program provides the best possible support to participants in the “lifelong pursuit you are all involved in.”
Ron Wyatt, MD, MHA, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Achieving Healthcare Equity LLC, & Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, provided the keynote address. Dr. Wyatt discussed health inequity as a critical issue in patient safety, quality, and risk management, offering health care professionals practical ways to execute and sustain health equity initiatives. “When we think about inequity—at the end, we are talking about fairness and justice in health and health care,” he said, adding that inequity is indifference operating in a certain way because it is part of a system that is designed to advantage some populations and disadvantage others. “Concentrated poverty led to health inequity, which leads to preventable and premature death.”
Dr. Ron Wyatt discusses health equity in patient safety and quality.
Dr. Wyatt also detailed how the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the problem and touched on efforts by The Joint Commission, the National Committee for Quality Assurance, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to focus on equity. He challenged health care leaders to see themselves as servants, noting that this is where equity work starts. “What is your why? How often do you ask yourself, has it shifted, is it on the backburner? … If you’re not addressing inequity in the system you are in, you are not doing quality and safety work. They are inextricably linked. There is one core value to quality and safety, and that is equity. You have to do all three at once. They cannot be siloed from one another.”