QIA Class of 2021

On May 26, 2021, the Quality Improvement Academy-Weill Cornell Medicine (QIA) held a socially-distanced and fully-masked graduation celebration for the 11 faculty of the Class of 2021. This was a landmark year marking the graduation of the fifth QIA class!

With ongoing support from Dean Augustine M.K. Choi and Dr. Anthony Hollenberg, Chairman of the Weill Department of Medicine, the event recognized the accomplishments of the QIA graduates representing seven departments and their ongoing commitment to improving patient care across the institution. Despite the many setbacks due to COVID-19, 10 projects were completed this year. Four were presented at WDOM Grand Rounds on May 26, 2021. Dr. Jennifer I. Lee, Vice Chair for Quality and Safety, WDOM, expressed thanks to department chairs Dr. Sallie Permar and Dr. Joseph Abularrage, Dr. Gerald Loughlin of Pediatrics, Dr. Hugh Hemmings of Anesthesiology, Dr. Rahul Sharma of Emergency Medicine, Dr. Laura Riley of Obstetrics and Gynecology and to Rosanne Raso, VP/Chief Nursing Officer at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, for supporting their faculty in the program.

This year’s class included:

Weill Department of Medicine

• Dr. Andrea Betesh from the Division of Gastroenterology (Project: Weill Cornell Medicine Colorectal Cancer Screening Initiative)
• Dr. Pamela Tieu from the Division of General Internal Medicine/Section of Hospital Medicine (Project: Assessing Medical Understanding of a Chinese Population at NYP-Lower Manhattan Hospital)
• Dr. Ozan Unlu from the Residency Program (Project: Using Clinical Decision Support in Electronic Medical Record to Improve Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonist Prescription Rates in Hospitalized Patients with Heart Failure)

Department of Pediatrics

• Dr. Jamie Lee Palaganas from the Division Pediatric Neurology (Project: Discharge Optimization to Reduce the Rate of Unplanned Readmissions for Pediatric Patients with Neurologic Conditions)
• Dr. Kalliope Tsirilakis from the Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergy & Immunology (Project: Pediatric Acute Asthma Exacerbation Clinical Pathway Development in a Regional Hospital)

Department of Anesthesiology

• Dr. Priscilla Nelson from the Division of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology (Project: Understanding Perceptions and Knowledge of Monitored Anesthesia Care (MAC))
• Dr. Robert White (Project: Enhanced Recovery After Cesarean Delivery (ERAC) to Reduce Opioid Prescription and to Promote Multimodal Pain Management)

Department of Emergency Medicine

• Dr. Nicole Gerber from the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine (Project: A multidisciplinary, multimodal quality improvement initiative to reduce time to antibiotic administration in pediatric oncology patients with fever and neutropenia)
• Dr. Matthew McCarty (Project: Optimized Follow Up for Patients Discharged from the Emergency Department after Abdominal Imaging)

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

• Dr. Malavika Prabhu from the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine (Project: Outpatient Cervical Ripening for Low-Risk Pregnant Women: A Quality Improvement Initiative to Decrease Hospital Length of Stay and Improve Patient Satisfaction)

NewYork-Presbyterian Nursing

• Mary Steszewski, B.S.N., R.N., from the Division of Endoscopy (Project: Collaboration with Dr. Andrea Betesh)