Emory’s William Bornstein Named Vice Chair of Healthcare Accreditation Committee

Emory Healthcare Chief Quality Officer William A. Bornstein, MD, PhD, has been named vice chair of the Professional and Technical Advisory Committee of The Joint Commission Hospital Accreditation Program.

The Professional and Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC) is composed of health care experts who provide advice and assistance in the development of new and revised standards, and recommend improvements to the accreditation process. Members of the PTAC are drawn from representatives of numerous national bodies, including the American Hospital Association (Dr. Bornstein represents on this committee), the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association, among others.

Additionally Dr. Bornstein serves in a leadership capacity on several national quality and safety committees including as chair of the Clinical Evaluative Sciences Council steering committee of the University Health System Consortium. As chief quality officer for Emory Healthcare, Dr. Bornstein is charged with leading quality improvement and patient safety initiatives throughout the enterprise. Dr. Bornstein directs the Emory Healthcare Office of Quality. Major quality and safety initiatives underway include “breakthrough projects” to reduce venous thromboembolism (dangerous blood clots), surgical infections, intravenous catheter infections and ventilator associated pneumonia; projects using Lean production principles to reduce waste and defects and improve harm; and development of an Emory Healthcare Quality Academy. Under Dr. Bornstein’s leadership, Emory Healthcare has been recognized with Quality and Patient Safety Awards from the Georgia Parthership for Health and Accountability every year from 2002 through 2007.

A board-certified endocrinologist and internist, Dr. Bornstein earned his medical degree and PhD in cell and molecular biology from the Medical College of Georgia. He served an internship and residency in internal medicine at Duke and a fellowship in endocrinology at Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital, where he served as faculty before coming to Atlanta in 1986.

The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the US. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s predominant standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Since 1951, The Joint Commission has maintained state-of-the-art standards that focus on improving the quality and safety of care provided by health care organizations.