J. Michael Henderson
Former Chief Medical Officer
The University of Mississippi Medical Center

J. Michael Henderson MD was the former Chief Quality Officer at the Cleveland Clinic when he received the Pete Conrad Global Patient Safety Award for his global contributions to patient safety. His interest in quality was initially triggered in the surgical arena, implementing standardized approaches to preoperative processes, and becoming a champion for the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program of the American College of Surgeons. In 2005, he embarked on an expansion of Quality and Patient Safety for the Cleveland Clinic. His leadership support in establishing the Quality and Patient Safety Institute has provided a central coordinating quality focus across the more than 20,000 employees. This Institute collaborated with the clinical and support departments to align quality outcomes and patient safety into daily practice for the entire healthcare team. The focus of this work was to make daily practice patient-centric, clinically relevant, operationally effective, regulatory compliant, and academically appealing. Prior to the Chief Quality Officer role, he was the Chairman of the Department of General Surgery and Director of the Transplant Center for 12 years. Now the Chief Medical Officer at the University of Mississippi Medical Center he has developed a High Reliability Program at The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in support of the #1 Strategic Priority of Quality Improvement.