Patty Skolnik

Founder & President/CEO, Citizens for Patient Safety
patty@citizensforpatientsafety.org

Patty Skolnik is President/CEO of Citizens for Patient Safety. She founded CPS in 2005 after she and her husband David lost their only child to medical error and poor communication. She is an international educator and presenter in patient safety and an advocate for shared decision-making, transparency, and improving patient/provider relationships in healthcare. Patty is a consultant with the Healthcare and Patient Partnership Institute, helping hospitals develop Patient and Family Partnership Councils for Quality and Safety. She provides her expertise on the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative Technical Expert Panel with MedStar Health as well as an advisor for MA School of Medicine TJFORCE project. Patty is a member of the AHRQ National Advisory Council and MedStar Health’s National Patient Safety and Quality Council; on the board of the Patient Voice Institute and the Board of Advisors of the National Patient Safety Foundation.  Named one of CNN’s “Intriguing People” and a recipient of many leadership awards, Patty has been featured in the books Take Back your Government; Blood Sweat and Tears and Patient Safety and Surgery (of which she was a guest author). While Patricia earned her degree in Social Work from the Univ of Pittsburgh, she feels her real-life experience has given her a doctorate in fostering a collaborative culture in healthcare that encourages shared-decision making and transparency.