A clinical quality leader at Columbia, Md.-based MedStar Health has committed to walking 3,000 miles this year — roughly the distance from the West to East Coast — to raise awareness of patient and healthcare worker safety.
Dave Mayer, MD, is executive director of the MedStar Institute for Quality and Safety and CEO of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation.
Dr. Mayer is completing the walk in various cities across the U.S. June 28 marked the start of the Denver portion, in which Dr. Mayer plans to travel 24 miles in two days. As of June 26, Dr. Mayer had already walked 860 miles this year.
"As COVID-19 numbers continue to rise throughout the summer, we will without a doubt continue to see the rise of deaths of both patients and healthcare workers caused by preventable medical harm," Dr. Mayer said in a news release. "These safety concerns deserve attention and action — now."