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Conference focuses on the power of storytelling to make a difference in health care

Conference focuses on the power of storytelling to make a difference in health care

sqe conference 

Front row (l-r): Andrea Waller and Stephanie Beauton. Back row (l-r): Stephanie Nobile; Karen Brown, MD; and Margaret Shalagan.


Approximately 1,400 people from across Yale New Haven Health, Yale Medicine and Yale University attended the 2019 Safety, Quality and Experience Conference June 5 at the Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford. Following the theme, “The Power of Storytelling,” speakers framed their shared presentations around personal events that touched on experiences, events and interactions.

Guest speakers included Lucy Kalanithi, MD, the widow of the late Paul Kalanithi, MD, author of the bestselling memoir, When Breath Becomes Air. Dr. Lucy Kalanithi wrote the book’s epilogue. Other speakers were Michael Englesbe, MD, director of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan-supported Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative and co-director of the Michigan Opioid Prescribing and Engagement Network; and Matthew Dicks, founder and artistic director of SpeakUp, a Hartford-based storytelling organization.

The conference showcased more than 50 juried project initiatives that addressed best practices in clinical redesign, general performance improvement, patient experience and patient safety (see YNHHS and YNHH awardees).

The Safety, Quality and Experience Conference aligned the Joseph A. Zaccagnino Patient Safety and Clinical Quality Conference with the Yale Medicine Quality and Safety Symposium and the YNHHS Patient Experience Conference for a dynamic day of learning and collaboration.