September 26, 2003

MGHer receives patient safety award

Jeffrey B. Cooper, PhD, director of Biomedical Engineering for the MGH and Partners, will receive the John M. Eisenberg Award for Lifetime Achievement in Patient Safety. The award is granted by the National Quality Forum (NQF) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

Cooper began his career in research and development with the Anesthesia Bioengineering Unit in MGH Anesthesia in 1972, leading the team that conducted studies of critical incidents and human error in anesthesia. The first publication of those studies in 1978 was one of the earliest reports of medical error and its relationship to human factors. During the same time, he was leading a team that developed one of the first microprocessor-based medical technologies aimed at integrating functions and alarms to reduce human and system errors associated with anesthesia delivery apparatus. Both of these efforts have catalyzed changes in anesthesia safety.

Cooper will receive the award Sept. 30 at the NQF annual meeting in Washington.