Dear colleagues,
It is my pleasure to announce that Andrew Odden, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Divisions of Hospital Medicine and General Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) has been appointed as Vice Chair of Patient Safety for the Department of Medicine. Dr. Odden has been an esteemed member of the Washington University community since 2015 and currently serves as the department’s Patient Safety Officer and a Physician Adviser for Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He is co-chair of the department’s Operations Executive Committee and is a member of the hospital’s Safety and Quality Council. In addition to his involvements within the department, Dr. Odden is active in numerous local, regional, and national quality initiatives. He is a current member of the Hospital Quality and Patient Safety Committee of the Society of Hospital Medicine and was recognized as a Senior Fellow of Hospital Medicine in 2016. Dr. Odden’s scholarly interests focus on improving the outcomes of patients with sepsis on general medical wards and he is a recognized national speaker on this topic.
In addition to his significant clinical contributions, Dr. Odden is a valued educator within our community and has served as a faculty preceptor on a variety of patient safety education initiatives within the department.
Dr. Odden has already enriched our safety and quality initiatives and we look forward to continued enhancements under his leadership. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Odden on his new role.
Victoria J. Fraser, MD
Adolphus Busch Professor of Medicine
Chairman, Department of Medicine