Harborview Medical Center

04/03/2026

Patient Safety Awareness Week gives us the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the leadership of our Chief Nursing Officer, Keri Nasenbeny. Keri received the CNO Champion of Safety Award for her unwavering dedication to protecting patients and for entering the arena each day to lead our organization with purpose, clarity, and resilience.

Through strategic vision, steadfast leadership, and a commitment to high‑reliability practices, she sets the pace for our organization, guiding teams through challenges, strengthening our defense against safety risks, and championing practices that keep patients protected. Her ability to lead with clarity, resilience, and purpose delivers knockout results that elevate caregivers, empower teams, and advance our culture of safety across every round.

This year’s Patient Safety Awareness Week features a boxing‑inspired theme, symbolizing the focus, preparation, and teamwork required to keep patients safe. With this theme, the awards recognize the teamwork, readiness, and innovation it takes to deliver safe, high‑quality care. Just as a boxer depends on their gloves, corner crew, and training, our staff relies on strong communication, quick action, and a culture of continuous improvement.

04/02/2026

“I want to officially recognize night security officer Noah. My brother had emergency surgery and my sister and I were at the hospital very late. Unfortunately, I could not remember how to get back to where we parked. We were extremely concerned about wandering around downtown Seattle late at night. When we exited the hospital, I saw Noah up ahead and called to him to assist us in locating my vehicle. After showing him my ticket, I anticipated that he would just point and send us on our way. Instead he told us that he would walk us to our vehicle.

The extra kindness it took for him to es**rt us after a very difficult day meant the world to us. When exiting the parking garage, we saw Noah outside on the corner. We put the windows down and honked and waved and said ‘thanks again’. He said ‘take good care’. That is a kind human being. Please let him know that he is appreciated.”

📸: Noah Norfleet, Hospital Security Officer

03/30/2026

Congratulations to Mike Levitt, Nick Meo and Ian Slade for receving the Heavyweight Champion of Safety award during patient safety awareness week.

This award recognizes physicians who consistently step into the ring for patient safety and delivers knockout improvements in safer care. Through leadership, clinical expertise, and advocacy for safe practices, they make a meaningful impact on patients, colleagues, and the overall culture of safety.

Awardees: Mike Levitt MD, Ian Slade MD, Raj Trivedi MD, Nick Meo MD

📷: Polly Roush, Patient Safety Program Manager, Richard Ellenbogen, MD, Chief of Neurosurgery; Mike Levitt MD, Neurosurgery and Chris Cottingham, Patient Safety Officer.

📷: Nick Meo, MD, Associate Medical Director of Quality and Patient Safety, Ian Slade, MD, Section Chief, Clinical Quality and Safety, HMC Anesthesiology, David Zonies, MD, Chief Medical Officer

03/27/2026

We’re continuing our celebration of the champions who exemplify teamwork, vigilance, and a strong commitment to patient safety. This round of awards recognizes three outstanding groups: Pharmacy – Medication Reconciliation Program, Environmental Services team, and Behavioral Emergency Response Team (BERT) Program.

With a boxing‑inspired theme, these awards recognize the teamwork, readiness, and innovation it takes to deliver safe, high‑quality care. Just as a boxer depends on their gloves, corner crew, and training, our staff relies on strong communication, quick action, and a culture of continuous improvement.

🥊 The Tag-Team Triumph award
Patient safety thrives on tag‑team strength, and this group exemplifies it. Their combined skill, clear communication and flawless teamwork ensure accurate medication reconciliation and safe handoffs, keeping patients protected through every round.

Honoree: Pharmacy – Medication Reconciliation Program

🥊 The Gloves Up Teamwork award
Recognizing outstanding teamwork and compassionate support. This award honors the meal ambassador team for their essential contribution to patient safety. With your gloves up, showing readiness, commitment, and unwavering follow through, you help create a safer and more supportive experience for every patient you serve.

Honoree: Environmental Services Team

🥊 The Ringside Ally award
Calm, skilled and unwavering, these team members are ready when patients face behavioral or emotional distress. Serving as trusted allies at ringside, they step in with compassion, clinical expertise and situational awareness to de‑escalate challenging moments while upholding the dignity and safety of patients and staff.

Honoree: Behavioral Emergency Response Team (BERT) Program

03/25/2026

During Patient Safety Week, we celebrated the champions in our hospital who step into the ring every day to protect our patients.

With a boxing inspired theme, we’re recognizing the teamwork, readiness and innovation it takes to deliver safe, high-quality care. Just as a boxer depends on their gloves, their corner crew, and their training, our staff relies on strong communication, quick action and a culture of continuous improvement.

Today, we’re proud to highlight three awards that showcase the strength behind our patient safety efforts:

🥊Innovation Upper Cut Award
Teams receiving this award bring forward collaborative ideas and creative problem-solving to strengthen patient safety in meaningful ways. Like a well-timed uppercut, their innovation delivers the right impact at the right moment, improving processes, reducing risk and supporting safer care for our patients and staff.

Honorees:
• Ambulatory and Allied Care Services – Narcan at Front Desk Team
• Ambulatory and Allied Care Services – Post Fall Assessment Development Team

🥊The Corner Crew Excellence Award
Like an elite boxing corner team, these individuals anticipate needs, offer steady guidance under pressure and work behind the scenes to protect patients and support colleagues.

Honoree:
• Outpatient Behavioral Health Nursing

🥊The Gloves Up Teamwork Award
Recognizing outstanding teamwork and compassionate support. With your gloves up, showing readiness, commitment and unwavering follow through, you help create a safer, more supportive experience for every patient served.

Honoree:
• Nutrition and Food Services – Meal Ambassadors

03/23/2026

Congratulations to Christina Broome‑Wright, our employee of the month!

Christina exemplifies Harborview’s service culture through her professionalism and calm solutions‑focused approach. She supports payroll and employee file management across a department with varied schedules and program needs, ensuring essential processes stay clear and on track.

Christina plays a critical role in purchasing. She manages orders for staff recognition events retirement celebrations and helps donated funds meaningfully support employees. Her expertise extends to community programs as well by processing purchase orders for donated toys for the pediatric clinic, emergency department and injury prevention items. These items include bike helmets and car seats distributed through Safe Kids Seattle – South King County. Her careful oversight ensures these resources reach the families who need them most.

Through every challenge, Christina brings a steady, positive “I can do that” attitude. Her work strengthens our teams, supports our mission and enhances staff and patient experiences.

03/20/2026

On last night’s episode of HBO’s award-winning drama, “The Pitt," Dr. McKay (Fiona Dourif) brings fourth year medical student Ogilvie along with her on a clinical call outside the hospital, to treat an unhoused patient in the park for a necrotic skin ulcer caused by chronic use of xylazine-adulterated fentanyl or “Tranq.”

McKay, who says she's part of the Street Medicine Team at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, advises her student that “empathy goes a long way in this job." This is exactly the kind of approach to compassionate care that drives our own real-world Harborview Street Medicine Team (pictured), which launched in December 2024.

The program is one of our Downtown Programs' field based teams, working in partnership with Public Health Seattle King County to meet unhoused patients where they are.

The team includes a registered nurse, mental health practitioner, community health worker, physicians, physician assistant and program coordinator. They provide care all across Seattle, from Ballard to Lake City, from Downtown and Capitol Hill to Beacon Hill.

Their goal is to provide primary care and episodic care in the community. They provide medical and behavioral health services, lab testing, medication dispensing and care for a variety of concerns, including injuries, wounds and infections, behavioral health, substance use disorder and bridge care for chronic diseases.

The program has already seen many successes, including a dramatic reduction in patients' visits to the Emergency Department.

Crucially, as the team engages with patients, they build trust, learn about the patient’s goals and establish a relationship that supports positive reengagement with the healthcare system by having a consistent, trauma-informed presence in patients’ lives.

03/19/2026

Harborview is standing at the edge of a brand new era, with planning actively underway for a new medical building on the west side of campus. In episode 3 of our ongoing "Ted (Klainer) Talks" series, meet King County’s Tony Wright, who delves into the history of our longstanding partnership with the County, and shares why this may be one of the most important bond programs he’s ever worked on.

Episode 3 of our series on the Harborview Bond Program shines a spotlight on the unique and storied connection between King County and Harborview Medical Cen...

03/13/2026

A comic illustrating the meaningful work of Violence Intervention Specialist Paul Carter III, supporting and advocating for patients and families.

03/12/2026

In episode 2 of our "Ted (Klainer) Talks" series, host Ted Klainer, Senior Director of Capital Development, chats with our Associate Chief Medical Officer for Critical Care, Dr. Bryce Robinson, about the clinical advisory perspective on the Harborview Bond Program. Calling this project an "infusion of hope," Robinson shares how he and other clinical advisors are working with architectural and construction experts to plan for a new medical tower and other campus improvements.

Watch the full episode here: https://bit.ly/4bFRTDG

03/11/2026

March is National Nutrition Month!

National Nutrition Month is an annual campaign in March that promotes the importance of making informed food choices and establishing healthy eating and physical activity habits. As part of National Nutrition Month, Harborview also celebrates Registered Dietitian Day on March 12, recognizing the specialized expertise and compassionate care our registered dietitians provide every day.

At Harborview, our nutrition team consists of 17 dietitians, including 11 inpatient and six outpatient. In addition to the 17 dietitians, the team includes one patient service manager and one health program operation specialist. They are a group of talented individuals who are experts in nutrition and are dedicated to helping patients improve their nutrition status during recovery.

03/03/2026

Chris Behrens has been honored with the Patient Safety Partner Award in recognition of his exceptional dedication to patient safety.

This award celebrates individuals who take meaningful action to safeguard patients through exemplary practices. Chris’s commitment exemplifies our shared mission to build and uphold a strong, dependable safety culture at Harborview.

📸: Chris Behrens, MD, Attending Physician, Family Medicine