Celebration of Excellence highlights Health System’s quality and safety gains — and the work still ahead
Camaraderie, connection, and a shared commitment to outstanding care filled the room May 1 as the UT Southwestern Health System hosted its eighth annual Celebration of Excellence. The event brought together clinicians, teams, and innovators to exchange ideas, spotlight successes, and learn from one another – showcasing the collaboration and passion that drive exceptional patient outcomes.
In opening remarks to the several hundred attendees gathered in the Tom and Lula Gooch Auditorium, and many more watching the program online, UT Southwestern President Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D., addressed the many achievements UTSW has made over the years in quality and safety, thanks to the tireless work of dedicated team members.
“I want to thank everyone for being here, but even more for being here every day, year in and year out, for our patients,” he said. “We have tremendous possibilities to look forward to. You see on this campus and beyond – places we are making investments that will allow us to continue to expand our ability to provide service and care to those who are looking for our help. These have all been possible because of your efforts.”
Watch: Intro, Opening, and Year in Review
Reflecting on progress, accelerating forward
During his year-in-review address, Jonathan Efron, M.D., Executive Vice President for Health System Affairs, continued the theme of progress by highlighting several exciting achievements and projects, including UT Southwestern’s certification as a Comprehensive Cardiac Center and the recent Magnet redesignation with Distinction.
UT Southwestern’s clinical volume growth continues to climb, with UTSW being the only academic medical center that sees the most complex patients in the DFW area, serving a population of 8 million people, which is only expected to increase.
“We’re going to have to continue to innovate on these care models so that we can create access for all who need to see us, so that they can see us,” Dr. Efron said.
Though emergency department volumes are on the rise, average hold times and percentage of admit holds are trending downward, thanks to a team effort. Reducing the strain on the emergency room is providing better, higher-quality care for patients and creating a much safer environment for them.
This year, UTSW’s Transplant Program became one of only 15 in the U.S. – and the only one in North Texas – to have performed more than 1,000 transplants in each of four organs: heart, lung, kidney, and liver. UTSW also was the highest-volume pediatric heart transplant program in the country for the third year in a row.
The Health System has added the musculoskeletal and the women’s and infants service lines, as well as reorganized several other lines to connect leadership and create better patient outcomes.
UTSW reduced its sepsis and mortality rate by 40%, resulting in 1,700 lives saved, and new measures for workplace safety have been put into place.
Dr. Efron also gave an update on the Operational Plan and discussed what’s next for UTSW, including: the New Pediatric Campus with Children’s Health continuing to make great construction progress; expanding clinical trial efforts; the phased opening of the Texas Behavioral Health Center this summer; expanding access to care in Fort Worth with Clearfork and the new Radiation Oncology campus; virtual care and Care at Home; and a Clinical Strategic Plan refresh.
Watch: The UTSW Way video
UTSW hasn’t only grown by adding buildings and programs, Dr. Efron noted, but has also recruited or promoted a number of extremely talented individuals to help lead UT Southwestern into the future.
This is the Way
Dr. Efron concluded with a presentation of the inspirational UTSW Way video, which illustrates UT Southwestern’s unwavering commitment to excellence in patient care by faculty, staff, and vital support team members.
“What we are talking about today is the ‘UT Southwestern Way,’ and it’s a little hard to define, but what we’re trying to do is figure out how we just remind ourselves that the UT Southwestern Way means we always put a patient first,” he said. “We treat people as we would treat ourselves or our loved ones.”
Watch: Keynote speaker
The secret to excellence
The keynote speaker, Harry S. Hertz, Ph.D., FAAAS, HFACHE, Director Emeritus, Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology, delivered an informative talk on how to achieve and maintain performance excellence as a systemwide endeavor.
“Excellence is a journey,” he said. “It’s a destination that we never reach. It’s one that we strive for, hopefully always continue to improve, learn how to improve, and focus on getting better at while celebrating our progress along the way.”
A systems perspective begins with the leadership’s perspective, according to Dr. Hertz, who illustrated how, much like the head chef at a Michelin 3-star restaurant, a successful health system leader needs to engage employees to create aligned and integrated service for patient satisfaction.
He also shared his equation C - V = D, or culture minus values equals destiny. For Dr. Hertz, culture encompasses the shared beliefs, norms, and values that are uniquely practiced within your organization, and values are the guiding principles and behaviors that embody how your organization and its people are expected to operate.
“When your culture builds on and surpasses the organization’s basic core values, then you create delight for your customers, employees, and stakeholders,” he said.
Finally, Dr. Hertz shared that the most successful organizations have a senior leadership group consisting of cross-discipline individuals who come together to lead and coordinate organizational performance and improvement and a senior executive who serves as coach, guide, and ultimate decision-maker.
But in the end, success will come based on UTSW values.
“Live within those values, build on those values, and you become an excellent organization,” Dr. Hertz concluded.
Watch: Patient video
Dedication to patient care
During the ceremony, the audience was treated to an uplifting video presentation featuring patient Spencer Swann, a multiple myeloma survivor and stem cell transplant recipient who is now in remission and living his best life thanks to his care team at UT Southwestern. In fact, he’s preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro – the highest mountain in Africa – this fall.
“UT Southwestern has been my second home,” Mr. Swann said. “We’ve established such good relationships with our care team here. There’s always someone that you can reach out to and that’s what we really love about being here.”
Recognizing the winners
Following Dr. Hertz’s thought-provoking presentation and the traditional “fireside chat” with Health System leaders, poster project winners were announced. In all, 240 teams (a new record) submitted entries. Their contributions focused on projects to improve care in the categories of People, Safety, Quality, Service, and Financial Performance. These initiatives led to a redesign in staffing, new safety measures, and improved efficiency.
“We are here celebrating excellence, but I think what we are really here recognizing is our ability to improve and learn, and that ability to learn how to learn is demonstrated by 240 posters outside (Gooch Auditorium),” Dr. Efron said. “That’s what this is all about – making ourselves better every day to care for our patients and to ensure our people have the best experience at work they can possibly have. If our people are doing well, our patients will do well.”
At right, view a list of the winners and a video of the winning poster announcements.
Also revealed at the event were the Patient Safety Star Award winners and the Academy for Performance Excellence (APEX) Award recipients.
Patient Safety Star Award recipients:
- Outpatient (Provider) winner: Sawsan Rashdan, M.D., Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Quality and Safety Officer, Division of Hematology and Oncology
- Outpatient (Clinical) winner: Kristen Craig, Medical Office Assistant
- Outpatient (Nonclinical) winner: Donna Freeman, Clinical Workflow Informaticist
- Inpatient (Provider) winner: Ogechi Dike-Noble, M.D., Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
- Inpatient (Clinical) winner: Paul Bossé, B.S.N., RN, CNML, CRRN, Nursing Manager
- Inpatient (Nonclinical) winner: Blessy Jacob, Health Unit Coordinator/Patient Care Technician
Academy for Performance Excellence (APEX) honorees:
Blue Level Recognition
- Marissa Strittmatter, LSSGB, Management Engineer I – Quality and Operational Excellence
Bronze Level Recognition
- Iman Ahmed, M.P.A., Project Manager – Quality and Operational Excellence
- Carissa Gasparovic, RNC-NIC, C-ONQS, Perinatal Program Manager– Maternal and Neonate Quality Program
- George Gerges, M.B.A., CLSSBB, Management Engineer I – Quality and Operational Excellence
- Ryan Anaya, M.D. (Class of 2026)
Silver Level Recognition
- Reema Mustafa, M.P.H., CHCP, Project Manager – Quality and Operational Excellence
- Ariadne Reveles, M.S., CLSSBB, Management Engineer I – Quality and Operational Excellence
Gold Level Recognition
- Khawar Nawaz, M.D., M.P.H., Clinical Fellow – Pediatrics, Neonatal-Perinatal
- Joseph Putra, E.M.B.A., CMBB, Engineering Manager – Quality and Operational Excellence
Certified Green Belts
- Reema Mustafa
- Ruth Fisher
- Erin Wuerz
- Eric Burden
Thank you to all for a job well done
Master of ceremonies William Daniel, M.D., Vice President and Chief Quality Officer, ended the event the same way he began it – with a heartfelt thank-you to those in attendance.
“I want to thank everyone for being here. You are the reason this event is so enjoyable,” he said.
Photo Gallery
Endowed Titles:
Dr. Daniel holds the William T. Solomon Professorship in Clinical Quality Improvement at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration, and the Charles Cameron Sprague Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Science.