Karen Posner Named to Laura Cheney Professorship in Anesthesia Patient Safety

Dr. Karen Posner has been named to The Laura Cheney Professorship in Anesthesia Patient Safety, launched by Dr. Frederick Cheney, former chair of the department of anesthesia at the University of Washington in Seattle. This professorship is named after Dr. Cheney’s mother, a nurse who encouraged him to go into the field of medicine. The Professorship provides a cornerstone for the department’s patient safety research program and will provide a permanent source of research funding for anesthesia patient safety.  Dr. Posner is honored as the first holder of this endowed position.

While Dr. Posner’s activities continue with the ASA Closed Claims Project, some endowment funds have been committed to a junior investigator starter grant within the University of Washington’s department of anesthesiology to promote patient safety research among junior faculty. Fundraising continues, with the goal of converting the professorship into an endowed chair position that would enable expansion of patient safety research activities.