An announcement from Michael S. Avidan, MBBCh, FCASA, Dr. Seymour and Rose T. Brown Professor of Anesthesiology, and Head of the Department of Anesthesiology
I am delighted to announce that Andrea Reidy, MD, has agreed to serve as the Department’s Director of QA/QI. In this critically important role, Dr. Reidy will help to develop and oversee the strategic direction for quality assessment and improvement for the anesthesiology department. The areas falling under the QA/QI umbrella include patient safety, patient satisfaction, and related performance improvement activities. Dr. Reidy will work closely with colleagues across the Department of Anesthesiology, as well as the academic medical center more broadly, to promote a culture of safety and enhance quality outcomes. Dr. Reidy has a deeply rooted interest in this area, and we look forward to her many important contributions. She will partner with Mara Bollini, Performance Improvement Consultant, to continue building upon the robust QA/QI foundation already in place.
Dr. Reidy received her bachelor’s degree in physics from Illinois Wesleyan University and her medical degree from Southern Illinois University in Springfield. She then went on to complete a surgical internship year and anesthesiology residency training in Pittsburgh, followed by a CT anesthesiology fellowship at the Texas Heart Institute at the prestigious Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Dr. Reidy was awarded the esteemed Resident Academic Achievement Award during her training, and she was also selected as the Resident Representative to the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
Following her fellowship, Dr. Reidy was recruited to a successful private practice, where she spent two productive years. However, she sought to return to academic medicine, feeling that she could contribute more to society as an academic anesthesiologist in an outstanding department. She joined the anesthesiology department at Washington University School of Medicine in 2018 as an Assistant Professor. She rapidly announced herself as an outstanding cardiothoracic and general anesthesiologist, with a strong penchant for preoperative assessment and optimization. Dr. Reidy showed strong leadership ability, was an invaluable team member and combined her outstanding training and tremendous clinical skills with an aptitude for mentoring trainees. In all her roles across the anesthesiology department, her passion for patient safety and quality improvement featured prominently.
Please also join me in thanking Anshuman Sharma, MD, for his outstanding leadership in this area since 2011. He has led many important initiatives and has ensured that the anesthesiology department is highly regarded within Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital / St. Louis Children’s Hospital as a major force in quality assessment and improvement. Dr. Sharma will continue his position as the Director of the Pediatric Fellowship program, and will now have more time to focus on his research projects as well as his clinical and educational responsibilities. Dr. Sharma will also be taking on one of the key leadership roles for the new Pediatric Telemedicine Control Tower – an exciting new venture that is one of the Department’s highest priorities moving forward.
We are delighted that Dr. Reidy has accepted the baton from Dr. Sharma, and we look forward to her leadership and vision in this role!
Michael Avidan, MBBCh, FCASA
Dr. Seymour and Rose T. Brown Professor of Anesthesiology
Head of the Department of Anesthesiology