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Quality and Safety

Recognizing the very solemn responsibility that comes with caring for children with spinal problems, Dr. Vitale has a passion to help create the safest possible surgical environment possible, and is a national leader in this space.

Dr. Vitale founded The Safety in Spine Surgery Project (S3P) in 2016 to help improve safety in spine surgery across the nation. This organization hosts the annual Spine Safety Summit which brings spine surgeons from around the world to New York to learn about the latest ways to improve culture, create dedicated teams, and follow best practices to make spine surgery safe. Dr. Vitale has also chaired the Committee on Safety for the Scoliosis Research Society and has held numerous leadership posts in the Committee on Quality Safety and Value of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America.

Dr. Vitale has published and lectured extensively in this area. In fact, he has literally “written the book” in this space: Safety in Spine Surgery . He has also led the development of best practice guidelines looking at the best ways to avoid spine infection after surgery, ways to optimize neurological safety, ways to avoid wrong site surgery, best practices for the use of halo gravity traction before spine surgery, and has sought to standardize best practices for conservative scoliosis care. As President of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, Dr. Vitale launched the Pediatric Safe Surgery Program. More locally, Dr. Vitale is the Vice Chief for Quality, Safety and Strategy for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, helping to lead these efforts across all areas of Orthopaedic surgery.

2024–2025 Making Care Better Performance Improvement Fellowship

Attention: The Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has opened its application for the 2024-2025 Making Care Better Performance Improvement Fellowship! This year-long administrative fellowship is an amazing opportunity for those interested in creating sustainable change in patient safety and quality of care at a top academic medical center. The fellow will report to Dr. Michael Vitale, Medical Director of the Pediatric Initiative to Make Care Better and Chief of Pediatric Spine Surgery, as well as Lystra Swift, Vice President of Clinical Operations for Perioperative Services. This fellowship allows for unique opportunities to lead several pediatric-wide quality improvement initiatives with a high-degree of autonomy and visibility alongside administrative, clinical, and research leaders.

Applications for the fellowship are due by September 15th at 11:59pm EST.