This award is named in honor of Robert L. Wears, MD, MS, PhD, for his pioneer work in patient safety. Dr. Wears was an emergency medicine physician who transformed the way investigators approach patient safety research. Described as both humble and brilliant, Dr. Wears provided mentorship and guidance to an array of healthcare providers pursuing careers in safety science. Dr. Wears served on the editorial boards of 10 major medical and patient safety journals and was a reviewer for 3 dozen more. An active researcher, he was a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine–Jacksonville, and held professorships at the Imperial College School of Medicine in London; the Institute for Health Innovation at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia; and the University of Southern Denmark.
The Robert L. Wears Patient Safety Award honors a volunteer, individual, team, or organization who has significantly impacted the field of patient safety through critical analysis, research, education or knowledge dissemination.
Call For Nominations
2025-Robert-L.-Wears-Patient-Safety-Leadership-Award
Award Winners
| YEAR | AWARDEE |
|---|---|
| 2024 | · Haytham Kaafarani, MD, MPH, FACS (Individual Category) Associate Professor of SurgeryMedical Director, Hospital Quality and SafetyMedical Director, Trauma CenterMassachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School · Lisa McGiffert (Volunteer Category) Patient Safety Action Network |
| 2023 | · Anna Palmisano, PhD (Volunteer Category). · Kathryn M. Kellogg, MD, MPH (Individual Category), Vice President of Patient Safety, MedStar Health, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Georgetown University, and a practicing Emergency Medicine physician. · Joe Kiani, MSEE (Individual Category), Founder of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation and the Masimo organization. · Dr. Saravana Kumar and the International Federation of Emergency Medicine and Quality/Patient Safety Special Interest Group (Organization Category). · David Nash, MD and Charles Wohlforth (Team Category) |
| 2022 | · Yanling Yu, PhD and Rex V. Johnson II (Volunteer Category) – Co-founders, Washington Advocates for Patient Safety. · Mary A. Dolansky, PhD, RN, FAAN (Individual Category) Sarah C. Hirsh Endowed Professorship in Nursing. Director of the Hirsh Institute, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. Associate Professor, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University. |
| 2021 | · John T. James, PhD (Volunteer Category), Founder – Patient Safety America. · Rollin J. “Terry” Fairbanks, MD, MS (Individual Category), Senior Vice President and Chief Quality and Safety Officer, MedStar Health. · Donna Prosser, DNP, RN, NE-BC, FACHE, BCPA (Individual Category), Chief Clinical Officer, Patient Safety Movement Foundation. · UF Pain Assessment and Management (PAMI) (Team Category). · Lead Investigators: · Phyllis Hendry, MD, FAAP, FACEP · Sophia Sheikh, MD, FACEP |
| 2020 | · Gwen Sherwood, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF (Individual Category) – Professor Emeritus, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. · SafetyNET-Rx (Team Category): · Accepted by: · James Barker, BA, MA, PhD · Neil MacKinnon, Bsc (Pharm), MSc (Pharm), PhD, FCSHP, FNAP · Beverly Zwicker, BSc (Pharm), RPh |
| 2019 | · Helen Haskell, MA (Volunteer Category) – Mothers Against Medical Error. · Jane Barnsteiner, Ph.D., RN, FAAN (Individual Category) – Professor Emerita, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. · Health Research & Education Trust (HRET) (Organization Category) Accepted by: · Jay Bhatt, DO, MPA, MPH Senior Vice President & Chief Medical Officer · Marie Cleary-Fishman, MS, MBA, RN Vice President Clinical Quality, American Hospital Association. |
| 2018 | · Sandra McDonald, MSN, RN (Individual Category) UF Health Jacksonville |