the catalyst

​Excerpt of interview, SafeCare Magazine, Sarju Bharucha, JD, Editor-in-Chief, 3rd Quarter 2016
Sarju Bharucha, JD: In all your years working in patient safety, what has surprised you most?
Yisrael Safeek, MD, MBA: The biggest coming to mind is an inspection visit to a “world renowned” hospital when I was with The Joint Commission. When I say “world renowned” I’m referring to a top 10 rating in the nation…rated by others of course. The hospital’s leadership constantly kept reminding the inspection team of these ratings. That all sounds fine until you know that the hospital had over 250 findings after a five day inspection.
​          They had patient safety lapses like using concentrated heparin to flush central lines, lack of two person handoff from the blood bank, blood administration without staff present in the initial moment, pharmacy not reviewing pre-procedure orders for medications, no post-procedure retrospective review, medications drawn up and mixed in a syringe and stored for later use without the strength of the dose on the label, lack of defined processes for prompt resolution of patient grievances, just to name a few. 
          I can tell you of another occasion when we …the inspection team…arrived at this great Midwestern health system and was asked to go home. Days earlier ahead of Joint Commission survey, the health system was visited by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid and had over 1,000 findings. Some involved rape of a patient in a psych ward. Truly sad. 

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OUR MISSION IS SIMPLE

A relentless commitment to improving healthcare through software.
vision

OUR VISION IS COMPELLING

All providers benefit from our ​cutting edge, best-value software solutions.
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OUR VALUES ARE ROOTED

Our people value honesty, trust, and integrity ​in all our work.

newsroom

2010
​10/31/2010 - Published CAUTI Bundle and I AM FOR SAFETY Surgical Checklist​
2012
07/21/2012 - ​Book Signing - ​​JW Marriott Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Grand Ballroom Foyer ​​​
2013
11/25/2013 - 2013 - 2014 100 SafeCare Hospitals Listings
06/21/2013 - 100 SafeCare Hospitals​ is launched
​03/02/2013 - Unique and Innovative Software ​ PulseChex - For Clinical Integration programs​​​​​
2014
​01/21/2014 - Unique and Innovative Software ​ ValueTrax I - For Hospital Value Based Purchasing (HVBP)
​03/17/2014 - Unique and Innovative Software  OPPE Readiness App - For Joint Commission OPPE & FPPE
2015
09/30/2015 - 2015 Person of the Year - Joe Kiani, CEO, Masimo Corp, California
​07/28/2015 - Healthcare's Black Tuesday - If Healthcare Outcomes were a Stock Market
04/07/2015 - Unique and Innovative Software  ValueTrax II - For Hospital Readmissions Reduction (HRRP)​​​​​​
2016
​09/31/2016 - 2016 Person of the Year Otto Cars, MD, PhD, CEO, The ReAct Group,  Sweden
09/12/2016 - 2016 SafeCare Person of the Year 10 Finalists
​06/13/2016 - Softwaring Safecare - Yisrael Safeek, MD, MBA, CEO, The SafeCare Group, Kentucky
04/20/2016 - The Dirty Truth About Caring Hands - Didier Pittet, MD, MS, WHO Lead Advisor, Switzerland
04/09/2016 - Unique and Innovative Software  ValueTrax III - For Hospital Acquired Conditions Reduction (HACRP)
02/02/2016 - 2016 100 SafeCare Hospitals Rankings
​01/20/2016 - The Epidemic of Physician Burnout - Ardis Hoven, MD, Chair, World Medical Association, France
2017
​12/26/2017 - 2017 Person of the Year President Donald Trump Named SafeCare Person of the Year
12/26/2017 - The SafeCare Group Announces New Website Launch
12/25/2017 - Making American Healthcare Great Again - US President Donald J Trump
07/30/2017 - Mending Broken Hearts - Harvard-trained heart surgeon Peter McKeown, MD, MBA, MPA, MPP
06/22/2017 - Appointment - Rachel H. Safeek, MPH to COO SafeCareSoft and Board of Advisors
06/08/2017 - Appointment - Ruth W. Brinkley, RN, MSH, FACHE to Board of Advisors
05/30/2017 - Appointment - James M. Francis, JD legal counsel and Board of Advisors
​05/03/2017 - Is Safe Healthcare Rocket Science?  -NASA Astronaut James P. Bagian, MD, PE, Michigan
02/14/2017 - Unique and Innovative Software  ​Hospital Quality Management System
​02/13/2017 - SafeCare Trumping Political Ideology - HE Tawfik Khoja, DG, Gulf Corp States, Saudi Arabia
01/09/2017 -  2017 100 SafeCare Hospitals Rankings
2018
​​​12/20/2018 - President Trump is SafeCare Magazine 2018 Person of the Year
10/31/2018 - 2018 Person of the Year Finalists
10/01/2018 - The SafeCare Group® Publishes 2018 100 SafeCare Hospitals® Performance Report
10/01/2018 - Preserving Rural Healthcare - Peter Sirois, MS, CEO, NMMC
​08/14/2018 - ​​Veteran healthcare leader Ray Montgomery  joins The SafeCare Group board
08/02/2018 - The SafeCare Group Granted Trademark for “Softwaring Healthcare Excellence”
​07/30/2018 - Methodist Hospital of Southern California Named 100 SafeCare Hospitals® for the Fourth Cons​ecutive Year
07/19/2018 - The SafeCare Group Granted Trademark for “Recognizing Healthcare Excellence”
06/03/2018 - ​Paving The Way To World Class - Ray Montgomery, MBA, FACHE, CEO, Unity Health
​05/09/2018 - SafeCareSoft® Announces New Website Launch
​04/20/2018 - ​Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital Named 100 SafeCare Hospitals® for the Third Consecutive Year
​03/19/2018 - Unity Health White County Medical Center Named 100 SafeCare Hospitals® Second Consecutive Year
03/18/2018 - Inspiring Excellence Everday - Kirk Soileau, MHA, CEO, Natchitoches Regional Medical Center. 
03/15/2018 - Union General Hospital Named ​2018 100 SafeCare Hospitals®
02/22/2018 - Northern Maine Medical Center Named 2018 100 SafeCare Hospitals®
02/01/2018 - Natchitoches Regional Medical Center Named 2018 100 SafeCare Hospitals®
​01/17/2018 - The SafeCare Group Announces Make American Healthcare Great Again Strategy
01/10/2018 - The SafeCare Group Releases its 2018 100 SafeCare Hospitals Rankings
01/03/2018 - 100 SafeCare Hospitals celebrated 5th Anniversary Recognizing Healthcare Excellence
​01/02/2018 - 100 SafeCare Hospitals Announces New Website Launch
2019

MILESTONES

2010
​​10/31/2010 - Published CAUTI Bundle and I AM FOR SAFETY Surgical Checklist​
10/31/2010 - Published Readiness Early Disposition Plan
10/31/2010 - Published Better Lean & Utilization Huddles
​10/31/2010 - Published SAFESKIN Pressure Ulcers Checklist
​10/31/2010 - Published DONT SPLAT Falls Prevention Checklist
2012
2013
​​03/02/2013 - Unique and Innovative Software ​ ​PulseChex - For Clinical Integration programs
06/21/2013 - 100 SafeCare Hospitals​ is launched
​11/25/2013 - 2013 - 2014 100 SafeCare Hospitals Listings
2014
01/21/2014 - Unique and Innovative Software ​ ValueTrax I - For Hospital Value Based Purchasing (HVBP)
​03/17/2014 - Unique and Innovative Software  OPPE Readiness App - For Joint Commission OPPE & FPPE
​12/31/2014 - Added Ranking to 100 SafeCare Hospitals Listings
2015
01/02/2015 - 2015 100 SafeCare Hospitals Rankings 
​02/02/2015 - Granted Trademark for "The SafeCare Group"
03/11/2015 - SafeCare Magazine​ is launched
04/07/2015 - Unique and Innovative Software  ValueTrax II - For Hospital Readmissions Reduction (HRRP)​​​
09/15/2015 - The SafeCare Group endorses the Patient Safety Movement Zero Preventable Deaths by 2020
​​10/23/2015 - The SafeCare Group endorses the WMA Statement on Physicians Well-Being
​12/14/2015 - The SafeCare Group endorses the WHO Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework
10/27/2015 - Granted Trademark for "100 SafeCare Hospitals"
​​10/31/2015 - Offered 38 page QAPI Report to our services
2016
01/02/2016 - 2016 100 SafeCare Hospitals Rankings
02/09/2016 - Granted Trademark for "SafeCare"
04/09/2016 - Unique and Innovative Software  ValueTrax III - For Hospital Acquired Conditions Reduction (HACRP)
07/19/2016 - Granted Trademark for "SafeCare" magazine
2017
01/09/2017 - 2017 100 SafeCare Hospitals Rankings
​​02/07/2017 - Granted Trademark for "safecare software"
02/14/2017 - Unique and Innovative Software  ​Hospital Quality Management System
03/07/2017 - Granted Trademark for "safe care software"
05/09/2017 - Granted Trademark for "SafeCare Analytics"
05/30/2017 - Appointment - James M. Francis, JD legal counsel and Board of Advisors
06/08/2017 - Appointment - Ruth W. Brinkley, RN, MSH, FACHE to Board of Advisors
06/21/2017 - Commemorated 100 SafeCare Hospitals 5th anniversary
06/21/2017 - Released a celebratory logo to be used in conjunction with the standard product badge
06/22/2017 - Appointment - Rachel H. Safeek, MPH to COO SafeCareSoft and Board of Advisors
​12/26/2017 - The SafeCare Group Announces New Website Launch​
2018
2019
​​​03/11/2019 - Sixth Annual 100 SafeCare Hospitals ratings released
01/30/2019 - Artificial Intelligence Software - SafeCare AI Avoidable Readmissions
01/30/2019 - Artificial Intelligence Software - SafeCare AI Preventable Mortality
01/30/2019 - Artificial Intelligence Software - SafeCare AI High Dollar Utilization 
01/30/2019 - ​Artificial Intelligence Software - SafeCare AI Redundant Lab Tests

BOARD OF ADVISORS

YISRAEL M SAFEEK, MD, MBA, CPE, FACPE
​KENTUCKY
Chairman & CEO
2010, Kentucky
​Expertise: Safe, Effective, & Efficient Healthcare
Yisrael Safeek, MD, MBA, CPE, FACPE  spent the last 25 + years offering strategic leadership within the US healthcare system - doctor, medical director, previous hospital owner, 10 years Joint Commission surveyor, 5 years Malcolm Baldrige Board of Examiners, 18-hospital Chief Medical Officer, book author, speaker, and software developer. Dr. Safeek made the short list for United States Undersecretary of Health. 
​             Prior to founding The SafeCare Group, Dr. Safeek served in the dual roles of Chief Medical Officer and Chief Quality Officer for an 18-hospital health system in two states with a $2.5 billion annual budget. He was employed by The Joint Commission for close to 10 years, and worked on the Medical Staff Systems Tracer, OPPE and FPPE, and received commendation for the Joint Commission's Patient Flow Tracer. He was one of the first Kentucky physicians to be appointed  by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and served for half a decade on the Malcolm Baldrige Program Board of Examiners. He is the author of the peer-reviewed CAUTI Bundle  (published 2010) that is widely utilized, and 12-point “I AM FOR SAFETY” Surgical Checklist (published 2010). He is also the author of the book, Credentialing and Privileging for Accountable Care, published by the American College of Physician Executives.  
JAMES M FRANCIS, JD
​KENTUCKY
​Legal Counsel​
​2017, Kentucky
​Expertise: Patents, Trademarks, Corporate 
​​James M. Francis, JD is a registered patent attorney specializing in intellectual property/patents, trademarks, copyrights.  He has handled patent, trademark, cyberlaw, and litigation matters for US and international clients ranging from FORTUNE 50 companies to individual entrepreneurs.  He is a former research scientist for a large international chemical company and is a frequent lecturer on intellectual property law.  
          Mr. Francis is also a contributing author to Navigating Legal Issues in the Biotechnology Industry: Leading Lawyers on Staying Abreast of Supreme Court Decisions and Overcoming Challenges in Patent Filing, published by Thomson-Reuters in 2015.
RUTH W BRINKLEY, RN, MSN, FACHE
CALIFORNIA
2017, California
​Expertise: Strategic Initiatives
President, Northwest,
​Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals
Ruth W. Brinkley, RN, MSN, FACHE is the President, Northwest, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals. In this role, Williams-Brinkley oversees all of Kaiser Permanente’s care delivery and health plan operations in Oregon and markets in Vancouver and Longview/Kelso, Washington.  
          Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente in November 2017, Williams-Brinkley served as CEO of KentuckyOne Health, Kentucky’s largest integrated health system. KentuckyOne is a division of Catholic Health Initiatives, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health systems. KentuckyOne was created in 2012 by the merger of Jewish Hospital & Saints Mary and Elizabeth HealthCare and Saint Joseph Health System. In 2013, the University of Louisville Hospital and the James Graham Brown Cancer Center joined KentuckyOne after a successful state-approved public procurement process. Williams-Brinkley successfully oversaw post-merger systems integration and optimization and expanded signature programs in heart and cancer care for the benefit of citizens across Kentucky.
          Prior to her tenure with KentuckyOne, Williams-Brinkley served as president and CEO of Carondelet Health Network in Tucson, Arizona, and as president and CEO of Memorial Health Care System in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Williams-Brinkley holds bachelor’s and Master of Science degrees from De Paul University, an honorary doctoral degree from Spaulding University, and is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. She has consistently appeared on Top 25 Women in Healthcare and Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare, and was named one of Most Admired CEOs.
LT. COL NAISHADH BUCH, MBA, PHARMD
​CALIFORNIA
2015, California
Expertise: Fiduciary
Chief Operating Officer,
​Lompoc Valley Medical Center
​Lt. Colonel Naishadh Buch, MBA, PharmD  is Chief Operating Officer of the Lompoc Valley Medical Center. Born in Uganda, he grew up in England and graduated from the University of Reading. After emigrating to the United States, he served 12 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving as Liaison Officer to UN forces, Operation Restore Hope, and retiring as a lieutenant colonel. 
          He later received his PharmD and MBA from the University of Southern California. Buch joined the Lompoc Valley Medical Center in 2002.
​RAY MONTGOMERY, MBA, FACHE
ARKANSAS
​2018, Arkansas
Expertise: Strategic Initiatives
Retired Unity Health President & CEO
Ray Montgomery II, MBA, FACHE served on the board of the American Hospital Association and served as chairman of the Regional Policy Board 7 from 2010-2012, and on the Arkansas Hospital Association Board for more than 17 years. He is currently the AHA representative on the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care and the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement boards of directors.
​          For close to 30 years, Mr. Montgomery led his healthcare system through extensive facility improvements, facilitated a major rebranding, which included a name change to Unity Health, the acquisition of hospitals and the building of a Cancer Center of Excellence. 
​          During his leadership, Unity Health earned the honor of the Arkansas Governor’s Quality Award twice, and he is a past recipient of the A. Allen Weintraub Memorial Award, the highest honor given by the Arkansas Hospital Association for a hospital executive. In 2014, the Arkansas Hospital Association named him its Grassroots Champion. ​
​LINDA M CHRISTMANN, MD, MBA
​FLORIDA
​2015, Florida
Expertise: Quality of Care
Former CEO, 
​Montreal Children’s Hospital
Linda Christmann, MD, MBA  is an accomplished health system executive who served as Associate Executive Director (Administrator), Montreal Children’s Hospital with $80 million CAD budget, 2000 employees, and 300 medical staff. 
          Dr. Christmann served as Regional Chief Medical Officer for several Universal Health Services (UHS), King of Prussia, Florida hospitals and CHRISTUS Central Louisiana hospitals. She is United States Air Force, Medical Corps, Major, Reserve. She has served as a consultant to several national health systems on quality and patient safety, evidence-based medicine, medical informatics, data analytics, physician engagement and Lean healthcare. ​​
DONALD E LIGHTER, MD, MBA, FACHE
​TENNESSEE
2015, Tennessee
Expertise: Efficiency of Care
Director,
Institute Healthcare Quality
​Donald E. Lighter, MD, MBA, FACHE is Director, The Institute for Healthcare Quality Research and Education. His experience spans nearly every sector of the healthcare industry from managed care to medical practice, as well as executive management in large hospital systems. Additionally, he has been an examiner with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award program since 2000 and in 2012 became a Judge for the program. 
          Dr. Lighter has a background in both academic medicine and business graduate education at the University of Tennessee, and has been able to advance the state of knowledge in many senior managers and executives in advanced approaches to performance improvement. 
          Dr. Lighter is Professor, University of Tennessee College of Business. He is the author of three books, Advanced Performance Improvement in Health Care: Principles and Methods, ​Basics of Health Care Performance Improvement: A Lean Six Sigma Approach, and Quality Management in Health Care – Principles and Methods​. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. ​
GEORGE E LOFTIN, JR. RN, MBA, FACHE
​FLORIDA
2016, Florida
Expertise: Quality of Care
Chief Nursing Officer,
Parrish Medical Center
Edwin Loftin, Jr. RN, MBA, FACHE serves as Vice President of Acute Care Services/Chief Nursing Officer at Parrish Medical Center. Loftin advocates a healing environment that assures “perfect care” and enhances evidence-based nursing care. Under his leadership, Parrish Medical Center continues to rank among the best in the nation relative to CMS core quality measures, and patient and employee satisfaction, while facilitating partnerships for clinical programs with University of Central Florida and Eastern Florida State University. 
         Loftin leads and serves on numerous hospital committees focused on process improvement and service excellence. He is currently enrolled at University of Central Florida in the Executive DNP program, earned his Master of Business Administration degree from East Carolina University. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives. ​
COL. (RET) PETER P MCKEOWN, MD, MBA, MPA, MPH, FACHE, FACS
​KENTUCKY
​2015, Kentucky
Expertise: Patient Safety
​Harvard-trained Heart Surgeon
​Colonel (retired) Peter P. McKeown, MD, MBA, MPA, MPH, FACHE, FACS is a Harvard educated physician leader and internationally renowned heart surgeon with demonstrated strategic success and capacity to build high quality cardiothoracic programs.  
          Dr. McKeown served as Acting Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the VA Mid South Healthcare Network and Executive Director of Asheville Medical Research and Education Corporation (AMREC), as well as Cardiothoracic Surgery Program Director of a Cleveland Clinic Affiliated program. His faculty appointments included Professor of Surgery, Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, University of South Florida, Professor of Surgery and Head of School, University of New England, Australia, serving as Deputy Dean of Joint Medical Program, and Conjoint Professor School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle. 
          Dr. McKeown is the author of over 100 publications and several book chapters. He is also a former Board Member of the American Heart Association and American College of Chest Physicians. He is a Colonel (Retired) in United States Army Reserve. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, and the American College of Surgeons.
​ STEVE JACOB, MPH, MA, MSBA
​TEXAS
​2015, Texas
Expertise: Journalism
Award-winning, McClatchy Tribune Journalist
Steve Jacob, MPH, MA, MSBA is an award-winning health care journalist. He has spent four decades as a daily newspaper and magazine editor and publisher. His commentary was distributed nationally by McClatchy Tribune News Service.  
          Mr. Jacob has received many accolades for his coverage including a 2008 Public Health Award for Media Excellence from Texas Public Health Association. He is a public relations and marketing consultant with Baylor Scott & White Health as well as being author of two books Health Care in 2020 and So Long, Marcus Welby, MD. ​​​
REV MARK B SAFEEK
​TEXAS
​2010, Texas
Expertise: Patient Advocacy
Retired Clergy
Reverend Mark Safeek is a founding board member of The SafeCare Group. He is an accomplished clergyman, world citizen, and humanitarian. 
          Rev Safeek spent the past 50 years ministering to congregations globally in countries spanning five continents. After his retirement from clergy activity in 2010, he focused his attention toward improving the quality of care for seniors after experiencing (firsthand) outliers of care. ​