The Institute for Safe Medication Practices sponsors the annual Cheers Awards to recognize both individuals and institutions for their commitment to medication safety. The 2023 awards recognized Susan Donnell Scott PhD for her work focusing on support mechanisms for clinicians involved in medical error.

Inspired by the research and leadership of Dr. Robert Wears, this award annually recognizes individuals, teams or organizations that examine the applications of safety science concepts to improve medicine. Nominations for the 2024 award must be submitted by January 2, 2024.

Nurses have a fundamental role in safe care delivery by fostering a healthy work environment. This award recognizes nurses that exhibit compassion, patient and family centeredness, and a commitment to workplace safety. The award will be presented at the annual IHI Patient Safety Congress. The award nomination process for 2023 closes on December 3.

Inspired by the work and leadership of Dr. Mark Graber, this award will annually recognize either lifetime achievements or stand-alone innovations that enhance efforts to improve the safety and quality of diagnosis. The deadline to submit a 2023 nomination is September 12, 2023.

The Eisenberg Award honors individuals and organizations who have made key contributions to patient safety and quality improvement. The awards are presented at the National Quality Forum's annual policy conference in Washington, DC. This website provides information on all the recipients and the application process. The 2023 award submission cycle is open through August 21, 2023. 

This award program recognizes organization-wide commitment to five key goals that support high-quality health care: access, health, innovation, affordability, individual as partner. The deadline for submitting an application for the 2024 award cycle has passed.

Efforts to incorporate respect and patient safety concepts into medical training have been inspired by the work and leadership of Dr. Lucian Leape, founding chairman of the Lucian Leape Institute. This annual award was established to recognize individuals and organizations that focus on developing medical student and resident skills in quality and safety improvement. The 2023 application process is now closed. 

Lewis Blackman was a young man who lost his life to medical error when the severity of his condition after elective surgery was unrecognized by clinicians caring for him. This award will acknowledge residents and fellows engaged in developing educational programs on patient safety. Nominations for the 2024 award cycle are due March 15, 2023.

This grant program supports research that seeks to improve anesthesia safety and the development of researchers in the specialty. The application process for submitting a grant application for the 2022 funding cycle of the primary solicitation for investigator initiated research (IIR) grants is now closed. Other opportunities for funding become available on a periodic basis.

Inspired by efforts to learn from errors that resulted in the death of one young man, this award program recognizes health profession students that lead activities to reduce preventable health care harm. The application process is closed.

The Eisenberg Award honors individuals and organizations who have made unique and sustained contributions to the work of patient safety and quality improvement. The 2018 honorees are Dr. Brent C. James; The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Chicago, Illinois; and BJC HealthCare, St. Louis, Missouri. The awards were presented at the National Quality Forum annual conference on March 25, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Inspired by the work and leadership of Dr. Lucian Leape, this award is a mentoring program to develop physicians and leaders seeking to translate patient safety theory, clinical practice improvements, and implementation science to health care environments in developing countries. The current application process is now closed.

Medication errors in anesthesia practice can be result in serious patient harm. This award will recognize organizations that have focused on improving anesthesiology medication delivery through process standardization, information technology use, medication management, and safety culture. The award submission process is now closed.

The Eisenberg Award honors individuals and organizations who have made unique and sustained contributions to the work of patient safety and quality improvement. The 2017 honorees are Dr. Thomas Gallagher; Children's Hospitals' Solutions for Patient Safety; and LifePoint Health's National Quality Program, Brentwood, Tennessee. The awards were presented at the National Quality Forum annual conference on March 12, 2018 in Washington, DC.

The Eisenberg Award honors individuals and organizations who have made vital accomplishments in improving patient safety and quality. The 2015 honorees are Pascale Carayon, PhD; Premier, Inc.; and Mayo Clinic Hospital-Rochester. The awards were presented at the National Quality Forum's annual conference on April 7, 2016, in Washington, DC.

Innovations in patient safety can drive improvement efforts. This award program seeks to recognize feasible and widely implementable strategies to ensure processes in health care are performed correctly every time. This emphasis on Safety-II efforts will help organizations become more prepared to respond to unexpected events. The submission process for the 2017 award is now closed.

This award seeks to recognize health care organizations and professionals that have exhibited leadership and innovation in improving patient safety in Iowa. Areas of emphasis include reducing health care–associated infections, enhancing care transitions, and improving patient and family engagement. The submission process for the 2022 award cycle closes on June 1.