NEW ORLEANS – Ochsner Children’s and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), a respected leader in medication error prevention, are announcing a shared fellowship focused on medication safety. The joint fellowship will be the first program between ISMP and a healthcare provider and aims to educate pharmacists on preventing medication errors to improve patient safety and outcomes.
During their year-long Ochsner Children’s & ISMP Safe Medication Management Fellowship, participants will have the opportunity to learn from ISMP’s leading experts virtually while supporting error prevention efforts onsite at Ochsner Children’s in New Orleans. The fellowship will begin this summer.
Ochsner Children’s is a leader in comprehensive pediatric care, treating over 100,000 children annually. With a commitment to providing high quality and innovative care, the Ochsner Children’s team has earned the ranking of No. 1 hospital for kids in Louisiana by U.S. News & World Report for four consecutive years and has been named among the Best Children’s Hospitals by Newsweek.
“We are honored to collaborate with ISMP to integrate medication safety education into the provider setting,” said Dana Bledsoe, chief executive officer of Ochsner Children’s. “Building on our commitment to quality, safety, innovation, and education, Ochsner Children’s provides an ideal environment to prepare the next generation of practitioners. Together with ISMP, we are dedicated to advancing a safer and healthier future for every patient in our care.”
ISMP is the only 501c (3) nonprofit organization devoted entirely to preventing medication errors and is known and respected as the gold standard for medication safety information. For more than 25 years, it has served as a vital force for progress, successfully advocating for numerous necessary changes in clinical practice, public policy, and drug labeling and packaging. ISMP was acquired by ECRI, a global healthcare quality and safety nonprofit, in 2020.
The Ochsner Children’s & ISMP Safe Medication Management Fellowship will give participants a unique opportunity to make a tangible difference in medication safety by undertaking broad-based communication about errors and their prevention, developing interdisciplinary error-prevention strategies, and creating educational initiatives that reach healthcare professionals and the general public with crucial medication-safety related information.
“We are excited to work with Ochsner Children’s to train more pharmacist leaders in the fight to prevent medication errors,” said Dheerendra Kommala, MD, chief medical officer at ECRI. “Ensuring healthcare staff have the essential safety knowledge needed to reduce risk and protect patients is a key component for implementing a total systems safety approach and addressing overall quality of care.”
For additional information and to apply for the new fellowship, visit: Safe Medication Management Fellowships.
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About Ochsner Children’s
Ochsner Children’s is part of Ochsner Health, the leading nonprofit healthcare provider in the Gulf South, delivering expert care at its 46 hospitals and more than 370 health and urgent care centers. Ochsner Children’s has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report as the No. 1 hospital for kids in Louisiana for four consecutive years. For the eighth year in a row, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Ochsner Children's Hospital among the Top 50 Children’s Hospitals in the country. In 2024, Ochsner Children's Hospital ranked in cardiology & heart surgery, orthopedics and gastroenterology & GI surgery by U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, Ochsner Children’s Hospital is honored to be recognized by Newsweek as America’s Best Children’s Hospitals ranking in pulmonology and neonatology. Recently, construction began on a new home for Ochsner Children’s Hospital as a continued focus on advancing high quality, innovative pediatric healthcare throughout the Gulf South region. Ochsner Children’s inspires healthier lives and stronger communities through a combination of standard-setting expertise, quality and connection not found anywhere else in the region.
About the Institute for Safe Medication Practices
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) is the nation’s first 501c (3) nonprofit organization devoted entirely to preventing medication errors. ISMP is known and respected for its medication safety information. For more than 25 years, it also has served as a vital force for progress. ISMP’s advocacy work alone has resulted in numerous necessary changes in clinical practice, public policy, and drug labeling and packaging. Among its many initiatives, ISMP runs the only national voluntary practitioner medication error reporting program, publishes newsletters with real-time error information read and trusted throughout the global healthcare community, and offers a wide range of unique educational programs, tools, and guidelines. In 2020, ISMP was acquired by ECRI, a global organization advancing safe, evidence-based healthcare. The ECRI and the ISMP PSO is a federally certified patient safety organization by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As a watchdog organization, ISMP receives no advertising revenue and depends entirely on charitable donations, educational grants, newsletter subscriptions, and volunteer efforts to pursue its lifesaving work. Visit www.ismp.org and follow @ismp_org to learn more.