The United Hospital Fund recently announced the winners of the 2021 Excellence in Health Care Award for Quality Improvement Champions, including Kisha Mitchell Richards, MD, director of Pathology and Clinical Laboratory at Greenwich Hospital.
Dr. Mitchell Richards was among the five award recipients from Yale New Haven Health (YNHHS). The award honors extraordinary leadership in improving quality of care, patient safety and patient experience. Honorees are selected for their vision and accomplishments by participating healthcare organizations from across the greater New York metropolitan region.
The 71 honorees were recognized at a virtual tribute event. In addition to Dr. Mitchell Richards, the YNHHS honorees included: Shannon Christian, MSN, administrative director, Patient Care Services, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, New London; Richard Martinello, MD, medical director, Infection Prevention, Yale New Haven Hospital/YNHHS, New Haven; Zane Saul, MD, section chief, Infectious Diseases, Bridgeport Hospital; and Danielle Zawatsky, director, Quality Improvement & Safety, YNHHS.
Dr. Mitchell Richards said she was honored to receive the award, which “represents the culmination of efforts of multiple hospital departments to successfully open and operate the first drive-through COVID-19 testing site in Connecticut in 2020. This award is an invaluable acknowledgement and validation of the fortitude and hard work of the Pathology and Laboratory team at Greenwich Hospital – a team that I’m proud to lead and work with.”
Karen Santucci, MD, Greenwich Hospital chief medical officer, said the award recognizes Dr. Mitchell Richards extraordinary leadership.
“She approaches every day and every situation with exceptional poise, intelligence, follow-through and accountability,” Santucci said. “This award recognizes healthcare innovation and improvement aimed at achieving the highest quality patient care and indeed, that is exactly what Dr. Mitchell Richards and her team did during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The Tribute to Excellence in Health Care was initiated in 2019 to recognize healthcare innovation and improvement aimed at achieving the highest quality patient care by UHF, an independent nonprofit organization with a mission to build a more effective and equitable health care system.