Langston Center for Innovation in Quality and Safety
Promoting person-centered, population-focused and cost-effective initiatives designed to improve health care
Housed in the VCU School of Nursing and made possible with support from VCU Health, the Langston Center for Innovation in Quality and Safety is a collaborative forum for clinicians, educators, researchers, students and entrepreneurs to advance innovative approaches to complex health care problems with solutions that ensure a quality and safe consumer experience.
The center was founded with a $1.25 million gift from the VCU Health System and named in honor of honor Nancy Langston, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, ANEF, former dean of the VCU School of Nursing from 1991-2013. Through an affiliate scholars program, a student fellows program and events (including an annual speakers series), the center leads a unique array of opportunities to develop leadership, quality and safety science, decision and implementation science, and innovation.
- Mission: The Langston Center supports the transformation of health care through collaborative education, research and practice that advances innovative approaches to complex health care problems and drives excellence in health care quality and safety.
- Vision: Those involved with the Langston Center (clinicians, educators, researchers, students, entrepreneurs) will drive transformative advancements in health care delivery and enhance health outcomes of the communities we serve.
Functions
- Provide strategic leadership regarding innovation in quality and safety to optimize the human experience in health care
- Enhance the education missions of the VCU School of Nursing and VCU Health by generating and sustaining learning experiences around quality, safety and innovation for interdisciplinary learners, community members, policy influencers and others at VCU, VCU Health and beyond
- Enhance the research and practice missions of the VCU School of Nursing and VCU Health regarding quality, safety and innovation
- Generate funding to sustain and grow the Langston Center's work
Signature Programs
The Langston Center is home to a vibrant interdisciplinary community of student fellows, faculty, clinicians, affiliate scholars, researchers and entrepreneurs that convene in various formats to learn together, exchange ideas and innovate solutions that address complex health care problems.
The center attracts local, regional and national interprofessional experts in one or more areas of innovation, quality and/or safety. In a culture of influence, positivity and urgency for high-impact change within health care, these scholars tackle vexing health problems that impact patients and populations and strategize to influence the rapid uptake of solutions. The scholars advise the center’s overall direction and help secure human and material resources to fulfill its mission.
This program invites exceptional undergraduate nursing students to deepen their experience and develop their talents as tomorrow's nursing leaders and researchers. The program offers two tracks—leadership and research. Fellows share and engage in track-specific learning experiences, mentorship and community service to advance their development and receive developmental and financial support during the four-semester program.
The Bresenoff-Feierstein Innovation Series provides educational development for faculty, students and community providers. Top scholars in innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership offer state-of-the-science programs to empower changes in practice, policy and research; encourage innovation and creativity; and stimulate leadership best practices. The ultimate goal of this series is to advance consumer knowledge to effectively navigate and experience the health system.
Past Speakers
- James Pressler
- Michael Bleich
- Tom Ahrens
- Garret Westlake
- Bill Bishop
Through the generosity of Steve and Lisa Feierstein (B.S.'78/N), the Langston Center sponsors innovations grants for faculty and student innovators. The grant funds innovation and design-thinking to test and evaluate a prototype showing the potential for scalability. Given annually, the competitive award can support testing new care delivery models or enhancing a job role, improving decision-support for frontline health workers, enhancing referrals and/or improving care coordination, introducing a new product or technology to improve patient or community-based care, or enhancing the design of an existing technology to improve quality and safety.