Beverly S. Brozanski, MD, a national leader in neonatal medicine and safety protocols in pediatric patient care, has been named vice chair of quality and safety in the Department of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Additionally, Brozanski has been appointed vice president of pediatric quality improvement and patient safety at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. She also has been named a professor of pediatrics in the School of Medicine’s Division of Newborn Medicine.
In her combined roles, which begin in October, Brozanski will collaborate with colleagues from the Department of Pediatrics, the BJC HealthCare Center for Clinical Excellence and St. Louis Children’s Hospital to develop a systemwide standard of care in pediatrics and initiatives supporting safety and quality improvement. Such efforts include preventing infections, antibiotic stewardship and improving rates of breastfeeding at hospital discharge.
“Bev Brozanski is known internationally for organizing and implementing health and safety projects that improve care for pediatric patients,” said Gary A. Silverman, MD, PhD, the Harriet B. Spoehrer Professor and head of the Department of Pediatrics at the School of Medicine. “Her success is related to her ability to engage multidisciplinary teams and front-line care providers. Her clinical care, compassion and leadership have earned her multiple awards and established her as a top expert in the field.”
Brozanski was a founding member of the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium (CHNC) in 2006. The national organization includes 34 children’s hospitals committed to improving care for infants in Level 4 neonatal intensive care units. Currently, she is co-chair of the CHNC Collaborative Initiatives for Quality Improvement group and remains involved as a member of the board and executive committees.
“Providing safe, effective and efficient care is critical to BJC’s mission to improve the health of our community,” said Clay Dunagan, MD, senior vice president and chief clinical officer of BJC HealthCare. “I’m excited for the opportunity to bring somebody of Dr. Brozanski’s extraordinary experience to help us advance that mission.”
Added BJC Group President Joan Magruder: “Dr. Brozanski has unique expertise preventing infection and improving communication among caregivers on the medical team. That she happens to specialize in caring for critically ill newborns makes her an invaluable asset, not just in our newborn intensive care unit but to our entire patient population.”
Brozanski comes from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where she is a professor of pediatrics and of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences. She also is the medical director of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, as well as a faculty researcher for the Magee-Womens Research Institute.
She attended Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, receiving a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1978. She earned her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1982. She then completed her pediatric internship and residency, as well as a neonatal/perinatal medicine fellowship, at the University of Pittsburgh. She joined the faculty there in 1987.
“I feel privileged to join this well-established St. Louis health-care quality team to help develop a systemwide collaboration for the health and safety of children across the BJC HealthCare system,” Brozanski said.
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