Join the Patient Safety Movement Foundation as We Walk 200,000 Miles by September 17 for Each Annual Death Due to Preventable Medical Harm

As COVID-19 Highlights Health Worker Safety Crisis, Foundation Launches Viral Charity Miles Walk to Unite for Safe Care

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, the Patient Safety Movement Foundation calls on America to #UniteForSafeCare and walk 200,000 collective miles via the popular app Charity Miles to acknowledge the preventable medical harm that is currently the unspoken third-leading cause of death in the U.S.

Earlier today, the Foundation also released a statement strongly urging the creation of a National Patient Safety Board.

“This year has been one of the most challenging and eye-opening for the issues of safety in our healthcare systems,” said Patient Safety Movement Foundation CEO Dr. Dave Mayer. “Even before the pandemic, more than 200,000 patients died each year in America from what are considered preventable errors. Now we’ve seen the shocking caregiver infection and death toll wreak more havoc — all mostly preventable. Systemic problems in healthcare are at fault, and many of them — from burnout to the lack of transparency and safe processes — continuously set our health workers up for failure and error and put patient safety at risk.”

Participants can move and donate their miles to #UniteForSafeCare on Charity Miles by:

• Downloading the Charity Miles app
• Selecting the Patient Safety Movement Foundation as your charity of choice
• Get moving! The app will link to your phone’s internal pedometer (Apple: Apple Health; Android: Google Fit). For more information, please see the details here.

The Unite For Safe Care campaign features not only this virtual challenge on Charity Miles, but a robust Virtual Event on World Patient Safety Day (September 17) starting at 5pm U.S. EDT, hosted by eSports star Jake Lyon and headlined by President Bill Clinton, World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom, global pop icon Belinda Carlisle, and Iranian humanitarian and musician Dariush Eghbahli. You can RSVP online for the free event here.

About the Patient Safety Movement Foundation

Each year, more than 200,000 people die unnecessarily in U.S. hospitals. Worldwide, 4.8 million lives are similarly lost. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) is a global non-profit on a mission to eliminate preventable deaths from hospital errors. PSMF uniquely brings patients and patient advocates, healthcare providers, medical technology companies, government, employers, and private payers together under the same cause. From our Actionable Patient Safety Solutions and industry Open Data Pledge to our World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit and more, PSMF won’t stop fighting until we achieve zero. For more information, please visit www.patientsafetymovement.org.

Contacts

Media Contact
Emilie Cole

media@patientsafetymovement.org
717-448-1821