Acknowledgments

This book is the culmination of efforts of many colleagues, collaborators, and friends, who share the commitment to improve healthcare quality. It is through their time and enthusiasm that this patient survival guide was nurtured from concept to finished product.

I thank my colleague John Govednik, MS, for applying his technical and organizational skills to help the manuscript meet publication standards. It has been a tremendous help to have someone on my team who can turn publication technospeak into a set of in-house instructions for our team to digest.

I acknowledge the contributions of the following members of my advisory panel for consumer education: Eileen Cahill, Dorothy Daly, Joseph M. Govednik, Margaret Govednik, Joseph Karlesky, Margot Kleinschmidt, Michael Kutch, Thomas Malatesta, Lisa McGiffert, and Daniela Nunez. This team represents a wide range of professionals from the public and private sectors, which provided insight for chapter discussions and key points for readers. I was lucky that these collaborators provided me with ten different viewpoints to help perfect the message of the book.

I also thank my healthcare professional colleagues who reviewed the content of the material for completeness and accuracy: Jessica L. Bunson, MS, CIC; Lorri Goergen RN, BSN, CIC; Kathleen G. Julian, MD; Lynne V. Karanfil, RN, MA, CIC; Yves Longtin, MD, FRCP; Karen Ray, MT, CIC; Gwen Stewart RN, BSN, CIC; Julie Storr, BN, MBA; and Kathleen M. Vollman, MSN, RN, CCNS, FCCM, FAAN. They are the doctors, nurses, infection prevention and control experts, and colleagues from the World Health Organization, who bring patient safety to the forefront of healthcare quality training and education. They are the team who fortified this book with years of theory, practice, compassion, and empathy for the thousands of patients and their families who have been in their care.

Finally, I am most grateful for the contributions of my family. Thanks to my husband, John L. “Jack” Guinan, for his enduring and endearing support of my teaching, consulting, and now writing endeavors and our children (so called though quite adults now) John L. Guinan, Jr., Esquire, who so willingly advised me on contractual aspects of health writing and publishing, and Maryellen E. Guinan, Esquire, who contributed materials and manuscript writing for the chapter on law and healthcare for the book. It is truly rewarding that I, having always played the role of mother, professor, and referee, have now come to rely on their good counsel and perspectives for the benefit of my work in patient safety.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Buddy, our beloved Golden Retriever, who wears many hats around our house: entertainer, exercise reminder, and when accompanying me to the office, occasional foot warmer. With companionship like his through the seasons of writing this book, I can complete this project with my stress level normal and my heart warmed.