Every organization has its unique journey starting right from its inception. This was no different for Washington Advocates for Patient Safety (WAPS).
As co-founders of WAPS, Yanling Yu and Rex Johnson entered the patient safety the hard way after a preventable medication error and poor hospital care took the life of Yanling’s Father. Yanling and Rex filed complaints with the state medical board against the hospital and the doctor for their negligence and failure to inform about the warned drug risks. Instead of getting help and information, they learned that the state medical board and regulatory system do not meet the public expectations for being responsive and transparent to the public.
After three years of campaigning for board transparency and working with state lawmakers as well as Consumers Union Safe Patient Project (CU SPP), Yanling and Rex finally got a new state law passed to increase the transparency of all the state regulatory boards. For the first time in this state, this new law guarantees patients and their families the rights to an explanation of a board’s decisions and to provide a statement on how medical errors and harm they experienced have affected their lives. In 2011, close to the third anniversary of Yanling’s Father’s death, Governor Chris Gregoire signed SHB 1493 into law, “Providing greater transparency to the health professions disciplinary process.”
Here is a picture of Governor Chris Gregoire signing SHB1493 into law with supporters of the bill. The primary sponsor of the bill was then-Representative Jamie Pedersen (far right), with Co-sponsors Representatives Cindy Ryu (far left) and Ruth Kagi (to the right of Cindy Ryu). To the right of Governor Gregoire is Yanling holding a picture of her Dad who was killed by a medical error. Between Yanling and Rep. Pedersen is Rex (Yanling’s husband) and behind Yanling is David Berger (a close personal friend of Yanling and Rex and a strong supporter of patient safety).
Governor Chris Gregoire signing SHB 1493 into law
To continue their efforts to promote patient rights and safety and to give a voice to patients, Yanling, Rex, and Samuel, another local patient safety advocate, co-founded Washington Advocates for Patient Safety in 2012, in honor of Yanling’s Father and all other patients who have been harmed and/or died from preventable medical errors. In 2014, WAPS officially registered with the IRS as a non-profit, 501c3 public charity.
Today, WAPS has become a recognized patient safety organization in Washington State. Most of WAPS members have personally been affected by preventable medical errors, the third leading cause of death now in the US. To prevent what has happened to them from happening to others, WAPS members bring patients’ voices into the health care system to improve quality of care, patient safety, healthcare transparency and accountability.
In recognition of our knowledge on patient safety issues and advocacy, WAPS members have been invited to work on a variety of patient safety projects. This includes teaching at the University of Washington for AHRQ’s national TeamSTEPPS to improve medical team communications and teaching at the UW medical school about interprofessional practice on patient-centered care and shared‐decision making.
WAPS members also serve on the Medical Device Epidemiology Network Initiative (MDEpiNet), a national patient panel to adviser FDA on medical device safety, the state Healthcare Associated Infections Advisory Committee, the Patient Safety Committee of the National Quality Forum, and a FDA advisory committee. WAPS members also worked with Washington State Bree Collaborative work group to develop care standards. In addition, in 2014, Governor Inslee appointed Yanling to be a public member serving on Washington State Medical Quality Assurance Commission. To see a list of our accomplishments, click here.
As a volunteer organization, WAPS members donate countless hours going out into the community to educate the public on patient-centered care, patient empowerment, medication safety, and healthcare infection prevention. They represent the true voice of patients working hard to help improve quality care and patient safety.
