Susan Sheridans family experienced two serious medical system failures. Her husband, Pat, died in 2002 after his doctors failed to communicate Pats diagnosis of spinal cancer. Their son, Cal, suffered severe brain damage, called kernicterus, when his neonatal jaundice went untreated. Sheridan is co-founder and past president of Parents of Infants and Children with Kernicterus (PICK). She co-founded Consumers Advancing Patient Safety (CAPS), a nonprofit organization that seeks safe healthcare systems through proactive partnership between consumers and care providers. In 2004, Sheridan was asked to lead the World Health Organizations Patients for Patient Safety initiative, one of six action areas of WHOs World Alliance for Patient Safety. She edits a regular column in the journal
Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare. Ms. Sheridan was named to
Modern Healthcares list of 2009 Top 25 Women in Healthcare.
