OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL--(Marketwire - December 22, 2010) - The Joint Commission today announced the appointment of Ana Pujols-McKee, M.D., as executive vice president and chief medical officer, effective February 14, 2011.
In this role, Dr. McKee will represent The Joint Commission enterprise as she focuses on and develops policies and strategies for promoting patient safety and quality improvement in health care. Her specific responsibilities will include providing support to The Joint Commission's Patient Safety Advisory Group; overseeing work related to the development of the Sentinel Event Policy, National Patient Safety Goals and Sentinel Event Alerts; supervising the Sentinel Event Database; and overseeing the functions of the Standards Interpretation Group and the Office of Quality Monitoring. Dr. McKee also will provide clinical guidance and support to the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, Joint Commission Resources and Joint Commission International.
Dr. McKee, who is currently chief medical officer and associate executive director at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, University of Pennsylvania Health System, and associate professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, has been a strong advocate for improving access to health care. Previously, she served as medical director for the Philadelphia Health Department's free standing health centers. She is a former board member of the American Cancer Society, the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, Health Partners Philadelphia, and Philadelphia AIDS Consortium, and currently is board chair for the Pennsylvania Safety Authority and vice chair for the Public Health Management Corporation. Dr. McKee also sits on the board of Quality Insights of Pennsylvania. In addition, she served on the Food and Drug Administration's Advisory Committee and on several committees of the National Institutes of Health.
"Ana has a well-deserved reputation as a dynamic leader who forms strong, effective partnerships that promote health care quality and patient safety. Her talents will serve The Joint Commission well as it continues to focus on helping health care organizations excel in providing the highest quality and safest care that Americans expect and deserve," says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission.
Dr. McKee holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Binghamton and a medical degree from Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital, Philadelphia. She completed her residency at Presbyterian Medical Center, Philadelphia, and is board certified in internal medicine.
Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 18,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 9,700 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,800 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission also provides certification of more than 1,700 disease-specific care programs, primary stroke centers, and health care staffing services. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.
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