Speakers
Sarah Blossom is the Director of Certification at IHI. In this role she is responsible for overseeing certification, recertification, and other credentialing initiatives including recent Board-funded investments in microcredentialing and badging. She has worked in patient safety and credentialing for over 10 years and started her career in health services research. Sarah is a graduate of the NPSF-AHA Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship program and received her BA from the University of New Hampshire.
Frank Filipetto, DO, CPPS, FACOFP, is the Dean of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM) at the University of North Texas Health Science Center (HSC). Board Certified in Family Practice by the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians, Dr. Filipetto’s academic contributions have been recognized for his nearly 30 years of work in the field of family medicine. Prior to joining HSC, he spent nearly 20 years at UMDNJ School of Osteopathic Medicine, in several academic leadership roles including Residency Director and Vice/Acting Chairman of Family Medicine. In 2007, he was named a UMDNJ Master Educator, the highest teaching recognition awarded by the University, for his contributions to medical education. Dr. Filipetto joined HSC in 2011 as Chairman of TCOM’s Department of Family Medicine and in 2014 became the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, where he currently holds the appointment of Everett Endowed Professor. In 2017, he was named Interim Dean of TCOM, and in 2019 Dr. Filipetto became the Dean of TCOM. As Dean, Dr. Filipetto’s main objective is to work with faculty and students to develop innovative strategies to provide the students with the skillset to change the way health care is delivered. While committed to academics, Dr. Filipetto practices medicine intermittently as a faculty member and preceptor in the family medicine residency program here at HSC. He is a member of the American Osteopathic Association, Texas Osteopathic Medical Association and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, of which he served as Chair of the Osteopathic Clinical Research Committee. Dr. Filipetto also serves as a member of the NorTex Advisory Board.
Lillee Smith Gelinas, DNP, RN, CPPS, FAAN is an Assistant Professor and Patient Safety Section Director of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM) at the University of North Texas Health Science Center (HSC). Dr. Gelinas has over 30 years of experience as a nursing and healthcare executive. She currently holds a faculty appointment as Assistant Professor and Patient Safety Section Director at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, where she designed, developed, and implemented the only Patient Safety Course in the US being taught to medical students and university faculty resulting in Certification as a Patient Safety Professional (CPPS). She has served on numerous federal, national, and regional committees and boards, including the National Quality Forum Patient Safety Steering Committee and the National Patient Safety Foundation Board of Directors and President George Bush’s Health IT Commission. Currently, she serves on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Harms Technical Expert Panel and the CMS Nursing Steering Committee. She is a TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer and is a Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS). She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) and is faculty for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). A member of the Editorial Board of American Nurse Journal since 2006, she was appointed Editor-in-Chief in 2014, a role she continues today. Dr. Gelinas earned a BSN from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, an MSN with Honors from the University of Pennsylvania, where she also studied at the Wharton School of Business, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Duke University.
Patricia McGaffigan, RN, MS, CPPS, is President, Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety, and Vice President at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement where she serves as Co-Chair for the National Steering Committee for Patient Safety and senior sponsor to the IHI Lucian Leape Institute. She is the former Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Safety Programs at the National Patient Safety Foundation. Patricia is a Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS), a graduate of the AHA-NPSF Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship Program and is a member of the Joint Commission National Patient Safety Committee, the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety Editorial Advisory Board, and the Advisory Committee of the Coalition to Improve Diagnosis. Patricia serves as a Board Member of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors and on Planetree’s Person-Centered Certification Committee. Patricia represents IHI on numerous committees, taskforces and professional panels and is a frequent speaker at national and regional conferences. A recipient of the Lifetime Member Award from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, Patricia received her BS in Nursing from Boston College and her MS in Nursing from Boston University.
