Awards

The John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards recognize major achievements by individuals and organizations to improve patient safety and health care quality. Each year, the National Quality Forum (NQF) and the Joint Commission recognize the best examples of individual, local, and national efforts to improve patient safety and health care quality through the prestigious Eisenberg Awards. These awards bring the quality community together to honor groundbreaking initiatives that are consistent with the aims of the National Quality Strategy: better care, healthy people and communities, and smarter spending.

Bernard J. Tyson, the late chairman and chief executive officer of Kaiser Permanente, worked tirelessly to address the healthcare disparities that plague the U.S. health care system. To honor his memory, The Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente have established the Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity. This award recognizes healthcare organizations and their partners that led initiatives that achieved a measurable, sustained reduction in one or more healthcare disparities. All types of organizations that directly deliver health care are eligible to apply, and the applicant can have addressed disparities for any vulnerable population (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, etc). Our vision is that this award will recognize achievement, inspire organizations to launch projects to address healthcare disparities, and provide concrete examples for others to emulate.