Sherri Ozawa, RN, clinical director of The Institute for Patient Blood Management & Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Englewood Health, and senior director of patient and family engagement
September 27, 2019 — Sherri Ozawa, RN, an administrator at Englewood Health in Englewood, NJ, has been named president of the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management (SABM). A founding member, Ozawa has been with SABM since its inception in 2001, previously serving on its board of directors and as executive director. This is the first time that a non-physician has been elected to lead the international medical society.
Ozawa is currently clinical director of The Institute for Patient Blood Management & Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Englewood Health, as well as senior director of patient and family engagement. As a former critical care nurse and an ethics committee member, she developed an interest in patient rights early on. This led her to the field of bloodless medicine in 1995, when its original intent at Englewood Hospital was to treat Jehovah’s Witness patients, for whom transfusion was not an option.
But “it expanded far beyond just one patient population,” Ozawa said. Researchers, including those at Englewood, found that patients treated without blood transfusions often did just as well as—or better than—those who received them. Bloodless medicine also reduced the risk of transmitting infection and disease, among other adverse outcomes, and significantly reduced healthcare costs. “We realized we were clinically doing the right thing for patients, and we had the obligation to do that for all patients.”
As president, Ozawa will oversee national and international education initiatives, including development of online education tools, and a certificate program assessing proficiency in patient blood management.
Ozawa’s goals during her presidency center on SABM’s belief that patient blood management should be the standard of care, and the urgency of bringing global aspects to the forefront. Ozawa believes this will ultimately lead to practices that can save lives in our nation, as well as in those less privileged.
For more information about Society for the Advancement of Blood Management, visit www.sabm.org.
For more information about The Institute for Patient Blood Management & Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Englewood Health, visit www.bloodlessmed.org.
Sherri Ozawa, RN, clinical director of The Institute for Patient Blood Management & Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Englewood Health, and senior director of patient and family engagement