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Keith Essen, RN, PhD, MSS is a retired U.S. Army Colonel, nurse executive, and patient safety expert. He established the first Patient Safety Program at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and later served as Deputy Director for the Military Health System Office of Transformation.
A former Perioperative Nursing Consultant to the Army Surgeon General, he directed operating room operations at Walter Reed. Keith also co-led the implementation of the Joint DoD-VA Patient Safety Reporting System and worked with the VA National Center for Patient Safety as a liaison to DoD and CMS.
He is the co-author of Soaring to Success: The Path to Developing High Reliability Clinical Teams, a frequent presenter on overcoming toxic work environments, and a contributor to peer-reviewed journals.
More recently, Keith has served as an Executive Leader Coach, supporting medical centers and VISNs in applying High Reliability Organization (HRO) principles to improve safety, teamwork, and organizational resilience.
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