The Helen Ferris Patient Safety Award was established by the Board of Trustees in 2012 as a way of recognizing a staff member, team or a department for their ongoing commitment to keeping patients safe and well. The award is named after the late Helen Ferris, the mother of Neil Ferris who was the former chair of the board of trustees.

Award Recipients:

2017: The CHART Team
In 2016, Marlborough Hospital had applied for and received a CHART (Community Hospital Acceleration, Revitalization, & Transformation Investment Program) from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. The goal of the CHART program is to promote care coordination, integration, and delivery transformations; advance electronic health records adoption and information exchange among providers; increase alternative payment methods and accountable care organizations; and enhance patient safety, access to behavioral health services, and coordination between hospitals and community-based providers and organizations. 

The CHART Team has made a significant impact in caring for patients who are heavy utilizers of the hospital services. The Team has worked diligently to establish community resources that help with the health management of these patients. Working collaboratively with members of the hospital team and with community partners, the CHART Team has helped reduce the number of emergency room visits and hospitalizations for these patients.

The CHART Team is co-chaired by Irene Hadley and Padma Bheri, and supported by Melanie Board, Lois Obeng, Jan D’Agostino and Michelle Cohan.

Photo caption: (Left to right): Jan D’Agostino, Lois Obeng, Padma Bheri, Neil Ferris, Eugene Ferris, Irene Hadley, Melanie Board, Michelle Cohan, Steve Roach