JOHN TOWER NAMED TO LEADERSHIP FELLOWSHIP

May 22, 2002

John E. Tower, D.O., 1985 alumnus of MSUCOM, is among 50 health care leaders in the National Patient Safety Foundation’s inaugural Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship.

Selected through a competitive application process, the inaugural class of fellows represents 15 states and Canada.

Patient safety officer at Beaumont Hospital, Troy, Dr. Tower completed his advanced training in internal medicine at Mount Clemens General Hospital and in rheumatology at Wayne State University. He is a trustee for the Arthritis Foundation of Michigan.

The Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship provides opportunities for senior leaders to advance the creation of cultures of safety and promotion of breakthroughs in patient care. Creating a culture of safety – an environment that supports candid discussion of errors, their causes and ways to prevent them – is a vital step in ensuring an organization’s focus on patient safety and quality improvement, according to patient safety experts.

The heart of the fellowship program is an individualized project that focuses on advancing patient safety. The Beaumont project will pursue a culture of safety through leadership, education and training, and use of resources and staff to assure a state-of-the-art capability to improve processes related to patient care.

"The Beaumont Hospitals are committed to the highest standards of patient safety," said Robert E. Reid, M.D., executive vice president and corporate medical director. "We take pride in Dr. Tower’s involvement in this prestigious project."