Patricia Quigley PhD, MPH, ARNP, CRRN, FAAN, FAANP

Dr. Patricia Quigley, PhD, MPH, ARNP, CRRN, FAAN, FAANP, Associate Director, VISN 8 Patient Safety Center of Inquiry, is both a Clinical Nurse Specialist and a Nurse Practitioner in Rehabilitation. As Associate Chief of Nursing for Research, she is also a funded researcher with the Research Center of Excellence: Maximizing Rehabilitation Outcomes, jointly funding by HSR&D and RR&D. Her contributions to patient safety, nursing and rehabilitation are evident at a national level – with emphasis on clinical practice innovations designed to promote elders’ independence and safety. She is nationally known for her program of research in patient safety, particularly in fall prevention. The falls program research agenda continues to drive research efforts across health services and rehabilitation researchers.

She has translated her research findings into materials that are used in providing bedside and community care, e.g., the Falls Prevention Toolkit and patient education materials on the use of hip protectors, ensuring seamless transition between her scholarly work and its application in real world settings. Dissemination of this work has progressed beyond the Veterans Administration (VA) through the media including national and local television and newspapers as well as through publications and conference presentations. Her contributions significantly impact nursing science. She leads an interdisciplinary clinical team in the development of evidence-based assessment tools and clinical guidelines related to assessing veterans’ risk for falls and fall-related injuries across multiple medical centers.

Her leadership resulted in the first organization to achieve CARF Accreditation for 3 Rehabilitation Programs, which expanded to now 11; National Deployment of the Functional Independence Measure / Program Evaluation System throughout VHA rehabilitation programs, and national Evidence-based Fall Prevention Conferences for 11 years consecutively, and first organization to acquire ANCC’s Magnet Designation. Additionally, she provides on-going consultation to the nursing staff, quality management, and patient safety coordinators for management of complex patients at risk for falls.