2007 Purpose Prize Winner: Dr. Donald Berwick

Dr. Donald Berwick is one of the winners of the 2007 Purpose Prize put on by Civic Ventures.

What can health care learn from politics? Inspired by his son's work on a political campaign, Dr. Donald Berwick, a pediatrician with a master's degree in public policy, decided to find out. In 2004, at the age of 57, Berwick - and his organization, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) - launched a political-style campaign to improve hospital safety and save lives.

Called the 100,000 Lives Campaign, Berwick's goal was to help hospitals reduce unnecessary deaths by encouraging them to implement six specific, scientifically proven improvements in care, including ones aimed at reducing medication errors and infections. Using political campaign techniques, specially designed "How-to" resources, teleconferences, and an unprecedented field and mentor network to support improvement across the country, IHI and its partners encouraged the widespread adoption of patient safety practices among thousands of clinicians, staff members, and executives.

In just 18 months, 3,100 hospitals joined the effort, and, in comparison to the prior year, demonstrated a reduction of about 120,000 deaths by implementing improvements in care, including the Campaign's interventions. In December 2006, IHI launched a second, expanded effort to avoid five million incidents of medical harm. Similar initiatives have taken root in Canada and Denmark, while other IHI led or inspired improvement efforts are underway in the UK, Sweden, South Africa, and Malawi.

Learn more about Donald here: www.purposeprize.org/finalists/finalists2007/berwick.cfm

Visit his website: www.ihi.org/ihi