Interviewee: Ilene Corina
President & Patient Safety Advocate
The Nonprofit Resource Hub is thrilled to announce that our nonprofit partner list is growing. This summer, we added 16 new nonprofit organizations to our community! In this month’s newsletter, we are featuring the Pulse Center for Patient Safety Education & Advocacy. The mission of Pulse CPSEA is to raise awareness about patient safety through advocacy, education & support.
We met with Ilene Corina, President & Safety Advocate at Pulse CPSEA to learn more about the work of her organization and why it’s important everyone knows about their work and how you can get involved.
NRH: How and why did you choose this organization to work with?
Ilene: I founded it in 1996 as a support group for survivors of medical injury when I realized, after the death of my son, there was no place that people could learn to be aware of medical errors and safe patient care. There were so many stories of death and injury caused by the healthcare system but no one was talking about the how or why in a way patients and their families could learn to avoid an injury or worse.
NRH: Tell us about one success story you are really proud of.
Ilene:Too many to name – each person helped. Each program that people attend. Each time someone says “I learned so much”
Also I was voted in the Top 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare of Modern Health Care and Top 50 of Becker’s Hospital Review. About (icorina.com) I tracked down the people who wrote the article to find out why I was awarded that and they said because they did the research. Selected for a scholarship for a year’s training from the AHA in patient safety led my work in patient safety and aiding vulnerable populations HealthCareEquality – Pulse Center for Patient Safety Education & Advocacy and my 13 years as a Commissioner with The Joint Commission holding my own with some of the leaders in patient safety and patient care.
NRH: What is the biggest challenge to working in the nonprofit industry (or with your organization in particular) since the start of the pandemic?
Ilene: I like visiting patients and their families in hospitals and even though studies show that patients with family do better, the rules have changed. We began Remote Advocacy Constant Remote Advocacy – YouTube instead but we have grown since the pandemic and now hold three programs a month and have connected with caregivers and board certified patient advocates around the country. We have grown faster than we can keep up.
NRH: What’s the latest event you are promoting for your organization and how can the community get involved to support you ?
Ilene: Our Comedy for a Cause is a fundraiser on September 26th but we also need sponsors and help with The TakeCHARGE Campaign programs
We are looking for help to plan the TakeCHARGE Campaign.
NRH: What are you most looking forward to as the NRH grows and evolves?
Ilene:I like networking and meeting new people. People involved with nonprofits know what it’s like to work hard. We also need to meet groups of people who we can share TakeCHARGE with and people locally who can become ambassadors for the program/campaign.
NRH: What services would you love NRH to provide nonprofit organizations with?
Ilene:Board members and interns. We also need advisors. I put in 16 hour days seven days a week and often it’s not enough to feel like I have accomplished anything. I need someone to say I can help run a business. I am in this for the passion. Not because I have been trained or went to school for it. Ideally, we need funding to hire an executive director. We have never had one.
NRH: How can we get in touch with you?
Ilene: For more information about Pulse CPSEA, log on to: https://pulsecenterforpatientsafety.org/
We would love for our new NRH community members and partners to participate in this year’s TakeCharge campaign. For more information, log on to:
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