The Annual WCM Quality and Patient Safety Poster Symposium took place on May 20, 2026, at the Griffis Faculty Club. For over a decade, this event has brought together institutional leaders, clinicians, researchers, trainees, students and staff across all disciplines to celebrate the year’s collaborative advancements in patient care.
This year’s symposium, made possible through the co-sponsorship of the Quality Improvement Academy-Weill Cornell Medicine (QIA), NYP Department of Nursing, and the Physician Organization’s Division of Quality and Patient Safety, highlighted 34 quality improvement projects from 15 departments across WCM, NYP-Brooklyn Methodist, and NYP-Queens. Projects were selected through a peer-review process by QIA alumni, the Weill DOM Quality Improvement Patient Safety Committee, NYP Nursing, and the WCM Housestaff Quality Council. Three projects from the departments of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Physician Organization, and Radiology received special distinction based on their rigorous methodology, innovative approach, and sustained impact on patient care.
The event also celebrated QIA's 10th graduating class of 19 physicians, nurses, and PAs from five clinical departments. On behalf of the program’s leadership, Dr. Jennifer I. Lee, Director of QIA, expressed gratitude to all of the department chairs and chiefs for supporting their faculty in this year's QIA class: Dr. Myles Wolf (Weil Department of Medicine), Dr. Stephen J. Peterson (Department of Medicine/ NYP-BM), Dr. Hugh C. Hemmings (Department of Anesthesiology), Dr. Rahul Sharma (Department of Emergency Medicine), Dr. Brenna Farmer (Department of Emergency Medicine/NYP-BM), Dr. Sallie Permar (Department of Pediatrics), Dr. Jennie G. Ono (Department of Pediatrics/NYP-Queens ), Joan Halpern, DNP, RNC-NIC (VP/Chief Nursing Officer, NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center), Rae-Jean Hemway, DNP, MPA (Director of Nursing, Obstetric and Newborn Services), and Joni Barrow, MBA, PA-C (Director of Physician Assistant Professional Development).
The Class of 2026 graduates from the Department of Medicine presented their projects earlier in the day at Grand Rounds. Congratulations to Aliza Cook, MD (Hospital Medicine), David DiTullio, MD, the inaugural Dr. Richard P. Cohen QIA Fellow (Infectious Disease), Ettaib Elmarabti, MD (Quality Chief Resident) with his Co-PI Todd Culter, MD (Hospital Medicine), Kirsten Homma, MD (Hospital Medicine), and Yesha Malik, MD (Infectious Disease).
Congratulations to the QIA Class of 2026 for their remarkable achievements and for joining our community of over 100 QIA alumni! And thank you to all who attended the May 20th celebration of quality improvement and to all those committed to making care better every day.
