The Armstrong Institute: an academic institute for patient safety and quality improvement, research, training, and practice.

Academic medical centers can serve as educational leaders in patient safety improvement. This commentary describes the development of the Armstrong Institute at Johns Hopkins which generated multidisciplinary educational programs and research opportunities that engaged clinicians, administrators, and patients in setting goals to improve safety at their institution. The authors provide insights regarding establishing a safety governance structure, setting a committee agenda, and implementing and evaluating interventions.