This session will highlight the experience of the Seton Family of Hospitals as the Board of Trustees became more engaged in a robust patient safety initiative across a large regional health care system. The structure and process for Trustee oversight will be reviewed. Lay Trustees will share their experiences as they redefined their roles and developed a more complete understanding of the principles and methods that were essential to the success of the patient safety efforts.

      After this presentation you will be able to:

• Describe the redefined roles of lay Trustees in patient safety activities, and the unique and valuable perspective they brought to the patient safety dialogue.
• Discuss the specific educational activities that were useful to the Trustees.
• Explain the structure within which the Trustees carried out their governance responsibilities.