CLOSING THE BRIGHT SPOTS in health care.

A chance moment kick-started Eugene Woods' career as a health care leader more than 25 years ago, and a simple health care-related accident that took his - aunt Carmen's life years ago continues to fuel his passion for the field decades later. Now Woods, 52, is embracing some significant new beginnings. In April, he took the helm as president and CEO of Carolinas HealthCare System in Charlotte, N.C. Next month, he begins his yearlong role as chair of the American Hospital Association's board of trustees. Woods recently sat down with H&H N Senior Writer Marty Stempniak to talk about the AHA's new strategic plan, his fluency in Spanish and his love of singing and writing music.

Addendum / Addendum

Adenda al articulo (2013, v. 79(3)) referido al Dr. Ángel Florencio Linares: primer director del Hospital Escuela del Centenario

Addendum / Addendum

Adenda al articulo (2013, v. 79(3)) referido al Dr. Angel Florencio Linares: primer director del Hospital Escuela del Centenario

[Three Jewish Germans as chief surgeons in the Berlin-Friedrichshain Hospital--a historical reminiscence]. / Alfred Neumann (1865-1920), Moritz Katzenstein (1872-1932) und Max Marcus (1892-1983)--Lebenswege von drei chirurgischen Chefärzten im Krankenhaus Berlin-Friedrichshain.

Three jewish Germans were between 1903 and 1933 continuously in charge of a department of surgery at the oldest municipal hospital in Berlin-Friedrichshain (founded 1874). They were A. Neumann (1865-1920), Moritz Katzenstein (1872-1932) and Max Marcus (1892-1983). A. Neumann described in 1907 the so-called omentum-majus-cuff. By this a drain is wrapped up and put into a perforated ulcus pylori, which cannot be treated by another procedure. M. Katzenstein in 1900 was the first in Germany who repaired a torn off meniscus by suture with a good result (The very first was T. Annandale in Edinburgh in 1883). Aside of this procedure, important for prevention of gonarthrosis, M. K. described new methods for repairing torn ligaments of the elbow and the ankle joint. He was a close friend of Albert Einstein during his years in Berlin. Max Marcus was after the death of M. Katzenstein the youngest chief surgeon in Berlin--but only until April 1933. Then he was expelled by the Nazis, because he was a jew. In June 1933 he immigrated to Palestine and became the leading surgeon there in the later Israel. After the end of World War II he refused coming back to Germany, though F. Sauerbruch spoke about him as the "great hope for the German surgery".

John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety Awards. Individual lifetime achievement: Julianne M. Morath, RN, MS.

BACKGROUND: This article provides a brief biography of Julianne M. Morath, describes the scope and impact of her patient safety initiatives at Children's Hospitals and Clinics in Minneapolis and St Paul, and includes an interview in which Morath responds to questions about challenges to patient safety and medical accident reduction. BIOGRAPHY IN BRIEF: With a 25-year career spanning the spectrum of health care, Morath has served in leadership positions in health care organizations in Minnesota, Rhode Island, Ohio, and Georgia. LEADERSHIP AT THE FRONT LINE: Morath joined Children's Hospitals and Clinics in 1999 and launched a major patient safety initiative that put Children's on the map. Elements of the initiative included a culture of learning, patient safety action teams, open discussion of medical accidents and error, blameless reporting, and a full accident disclosure policy. AN INTERVIEW WITH JULIE MORATH: As the greatest challenge to leadership ownership of the patient safety initiative, Morath cites the need to confront the myths of the medical system and to develop the awareness of the issues of patient safety. She believes that clinicians on the front lines will be convinced that patient safety isn't "just another fad of the month" when leadership action is disciplined and aligns with what is being espoused. She advises other leaders of health care organizations interested in establishing a culture of safety to start with a personal and passionate belief that harm-free care is possible, to commit to informed action, and to identify and develop champions throughout the organization and medical staff.