NAPA, Calif., Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Doctors Company, the nation’s leading physician-owned medical malpractice insurance provider, is pleased to announce that Sallie S. Cook, M.D., has received its Award for the Advancement of Patient Safety. The award is designed to draw public and industry attention to the importance of patient safety within the medical profession and to recognize physicians who demonstrate leadership in this area.
For more than 15 years, Dr. Cook has made a unique contribution to the patient safety movement through her work with the Virginia Health Quality Center (VHQC), a health care quality improvement organization and the designated Patient Safety Organization for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Dr. Cook is currently the corporate medical officer and senior clinical advisor for quality improvement initiatives at VHQC. In addition, Dr. Cook is immediate past-president of Virginians Improving Patient Care and Safety (VIPC&S), a coalition of more than 40 organizations dedicated to improving health care quality and patient safety. This year she received their Distinguished Leadership in Patient Safety Award. She is currently president- elect of the American Health Quality Association (AHQA).
“This award acknowledges Dr. Cook’s dedication to the effective implementation of programs that will further the cause of patient safety within the American health care delivery system,” said David B. Troxel, M.D., F.C.A.P., medical director for The Doctors Company.
Dr. Cook joined the VHQC in 1990 after serving as medical director of the Blood Bank at the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Hospitals. She is board certified in anatomic and clinical pathology and the subspecialty of blood banking. Dr. Cook is an associate clinical professor of pathology in the MCV School of Medicine. She also serves on the board of directors of Virginia Blood Services, Centralized Credentials Verification Services, and formerly chaired the Medical Affairs Section of AHQA. Dr. Cook earned her M.D. from the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), where she also did her residency training in pathology.
“I am honored to receive this award and greatly appreciate The Doctors Company’s ongoing efforts in the patient safety arena,” said Dr. Cook. “Industry, as well as individual leadership, is critical in moving patient safety programs into the public spotlight.”
About The Doctors Company
Founded by doctors for doctors in 1976 to advance and protect the practice of good medicine, The Doctors Company (http://www.thedoctors.com) is the nation’s leading physician-owned medical malpractice insurance provider. With solid financial strength and a unique understanding of the medical malpractice risk environment, The Doctors Company enjoys a reputation as the industry vanguard.
The Doctors Company
CONTACT: Beth E. Starkin of Peppercom, +1-212-931-6108, for The DoctorsCompany
Web site: http://www.thedoctors.com//
