IHI Adds Renowned Leaders in Patient Safety, Public Health to Board of Directors

New members’ expertise will bolster IHI’s strategic focus on safety and equity

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) has added two new members to its Board of Directors. Rear Admiral retired Sylvia Trent-Adams has a legacy of work in federal service and public health and has served as Deputy Surgeon General and Acting Surgeon General. Beth Daley Ullem is a life-long patient safety advocate with deep expertise working with health system leaders and boards to improve the quality and safety of patient care.

“Our two new Board members are passionate about issues that are core to IHI’s work, including patient safety, quality in health care, improving access to care for historically marginalized populations, and public and community health,” said IHI President and CEO, Kedar Mate, MD. “The contributions of Ms. Daley Ullem and Rear Admiral Trent-Adams will be immediate and impactful to our Board and our strategic commitments on patient safety and health equity.”

The new Board members are:

Sylvia Trent-Adams, PhD, RN, FAAN

Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer

University of North Texas Health Science Center

“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as a member of IHI’s Board. I value the incredible work this organization has done and continues to do to improve health care and equity for all people,” said Rear Admiral retired Dr. Trent-Adams.

Rear Admiral retired Dr. Trent-Adams has had a distinguished career working to advance our nation’s public health and improve access to care for historically marginalized communities around the world. She is a retired US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS) Rear Admiral and held numerous leadership positions at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health; Acting Surgeon General; Deputy Surgeon General; Deputy Associate Administrator for the Health Resources and Services Administration, HIV/AIDS Bureau; and Chief Nurse Officer for the USPHS at HHS. Prior to joining the USPHS, she was a nurse officer in the US Army and a research nurse at the University of Maryland. Her clinical practice was in trauma, oncology, community health, and infectious disease.

Beth Daley Ullem, MBA

President, Quality and Safety First

“I am honored to join IHI’s Board to support its critical work in quality, safety, and equity. I deeply value IHI’s work to bring together thought leaders and generate innovative ideas to improve the delivery of health care globally. I am excited to work with the talented team at IHI and with IHI’s many partners to create meaningful change in health care,” said Ms. Daley Ullem.

Ms. Ullem is a nationally recognized governance expert and safety and quality advocate, committed to making health care more patient-centric and transparent. She is the President of Quality and Safety First, a governance advisory firm to support health system boards in their leadership on quality. She is also one of the founders of Patients for Patient Safety-US, a patient advocacy chapter of the World Health Organization committed to advancing the Global Patient Safety Action Plan in the US through better accountability and incentives in the safety ecosystem. Ms. Ullem is well known to IHI, having served as the lead author for the White Paper: Framework for Effective Governance of Health System Quality and she has built innovative tools for IHI to assess and accelerate board governance of quality.

About the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is an independent not-for-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. For more than 30 years, IHI has used improvement science to advance and sustain better outcomes in health and health systems across the world. IHI brings awareness of safety and quality to millions, catalyzes learning and the systematic improvement of care, develops solutions to previously intractable challenges, and mobilizes health systems, communities, regions, and nations to reduce harm and deaths. IHI collaborates with a growing community to spark bold, inventive ways to improve the health of individuals and populations. IHI generates optimism, harvests fresh ideas, and supports anyone, anywhere who wants to profoundly change health and health care for the better. Learn more at ihi.org.

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