Armstrong Award for Excellence in Quality and Safety
The Armstrong Award for Excellence in Quality and Safety award is presented to the physician who partners with patients, families, colleagues and staff members to optimize patient outcomes and eliminate preventable harm.
Stacie Stapleton, M.D.
Division Chief of Oncology and Director of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology
Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital
A steadfast commitment to safety and quality is central to Stacie Stapleton’s approach to caring for children with many different forms of cancer, including challenging cancers of the central nervous system. Dr. Stapleton’s continuous efforts to improve systems and processes within the Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute and throughout the hospital have led to changes that strengthen the delivery of clinical care. She diligently reviews online incident reports and meets frequently with team members to discuss opportunities for improvement. Together, they develop and implement strategies that have helped make processes safer and more seamless.
This collaborative work has improved the safety of chemotherapy administration and contributed to reduced rates of hospital-acquired conditions. Dr. Stapleton’s focus on quality and safety has also led to more efficient processes for both the inpatient and outpatient settings at the institute. She embraces a multidisciplinary approach to this work by partnering with nurses, educators and other clinical staff members to facilitate improvement.
Madhu Subramanian, M.D.
Associate Medical Director, Trauma and Medical Director, Burn Intensive Care Unit
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
As director of quality and safety for the Department of Surgery at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Madhu Subramanian has successfully implemented numerous initiatives that have improved patient outcomes and helped minimize patient risk and potential harm. Recently, he identified that many surgery notes were not documenting key patient risk factors, such as nutritional status, mobility and frailty. To remedy this, he helped lead the standardization of surgery admission notes, and created a template that automatically imports these key conditions into the patient’s medical record.
Beyond the hospital, Dr. Subramanian is a member of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Gun Violence Solutions, which uses objective research to develop ways to reduce gun violence. He is also the principal investigator for ACTFAST (Adopting Comprehensive Training for Firearms Safety in Trauma Centers), whose goal is to develop resources to encourage and educate safe home firearms storage practices.
Dr. Subramanian is committed to educating the next generation of surgeons. He serves as Johns Hopkins Bayview’s liaison to the Johns Hopkins General Surgery Residency Program, and mentors a cohort of 25 medical students through the school of medicine’s College Advisory Program. “In addition to all of these activities, he is a clinically active trauma and burn surgeon and surgical intensivist,” stated his nomination. “He truly is a role model for his patients, colleagues and trainees.”
Savitha Manickam, M.B.B.S., M.D.
Office Medical Director
Johns Hopkins Community Physicians
Savitha Manickam is a champion for quality at her Johns Hopkins Community Physicians Montgomery Grove practice in Rockville, Maryland. Team members credit her enthusiasm with turning around the quality metric culture at her office, leading by example. Evidence of her impact can be seen in her practice’s core metrics scores, which have grown significantly due to her hard work.
Dr. Manickam inspires all staff members and fellow physicians and advanced practice providers to make quality a part of their everyday work. She always evaluates and tweaks workflows to make them as efficient and user-friendly as possible. Patients can see and feel her dedication to their health, well-being and safety. Says one colleague, “She is a model for all here at Johns Hopkins Community Physicians in Rockville.”
Kara-Grace Leventhal, M.D.
Assistant Professor and Hospitalist, Department of Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine
The Johns Hopkins Hospital
As clinical lead of the Division of Hospital Medicine, Kara-Grace Leventhal has been leading the way in reducing hospital-acquired aspiration pneumonia at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is spearheading a systemwide aspiration policy and has led several teams in implementing oral care standards. She has also been instrumental in the development of new aspiration screenings for patients and the implementation of universal aspiration and high-risk prevention strategies. Under Dr. Leventhal’s leadership, The Johns Hopkins Hospital has seen a reduction in Maryland hospital-acquired conditions related to aspiration and an improvement in oral care compliance.
Overall, Dr. Leventhal is dedicated to ensuring that patients receive the best prevention-focused care. “Dr. Leventhal is impacting the way JHH thinks about and prioritizes oral care for our patients,” her nominators wrote.
Cheryl Burruss, M.D.
Director of Gastrointestinal Anesthesia
Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center
As director of gastrointestinal anesthesia, Cheryl Burruss began focused initiatives that resulted in significant improvements in patient care. By implementing the anesthesia care team model, she enhanced patient monitoring and support during procedures, ensuring better oversight and rapid response to potential complications. Dr. Burruss has also introduced targeted interventions that have brought about safer and improved patient outcomes.
“We saw a significant decrease in the incidence of patient desaturation below Sa02 of 90% following a standardization of the use of the oxygen face mask instead of a nasal cannula in high-risk patients and all EGD procedures,” says a colleague. “Parameters were also put in place for immediate notification of the anesthesiologist by any staff member who observed patient distress. The incidence of desaturation decreased significantly.”
Pouya Gharahdaghi, M.D.
Assistant Medical Director of Emergency Medicine
Sibley Memorial Hospital
Pouya Gharahdaghi is an exceptional leader committed to enhancing patient safety and quality of care. Under his leadership, the Sibley Sepsis Committee has implemented innovative approaches to sepsis management, significantly reducing mortality rates and improving patient outcomes. The committee’s collaborative efforts to implement evidence-based protocols and foster a culture of safety among staff members have elevated clinical practices and empowered health care teams to prioritize patient-centered care. As a result of Dr. Gharahdaghi’s efforts, Sibley was recognized as “most improved” across the Johns Hopkins Health System for core measures compliance and antibiotic administration times.
Tara M. Roque, M.D.
Neurocritical Care Director
Medical Director, Mortality & Quality
Suburban Hospital
Tara Roque, an intensivist with expertise in neurocritical care, has elevated quality efforts in Suburban Hospital’s intensive care units (ICUs) to a new level of excellence. A member of Suburban’s medical staff since 2004, she consistently delivers outstanding patient- and family-centered care and serves as an inspiration to many ICU colleagues. “Her professional, calm and effective critical care delivery complements her exemplary level of service and dedication to quality patient care,” one colleague says.
Guided by a special interest in quality and safety, Dr. Roque has driven significant improvements in neurocritical care protocols and management guidelines in Suburban’s ICUs. In her newly appointed role as director of mortality and quality, she has focused her efforts on developing more robust morbidity and mortality conferences in all departments, with special attention on a monthly multidisciplinary meeting where potential system issues can be identified and improved upon.
