Honouring Excellence: ISQua Awards Recognise Exceptional Contributions to Healthcare Quality and Safety

On Tuesday, 14th October 2025, during ISQua’s 41st International Conference in São Paulo, ISQua President Dr Ezequiel García Elorrio had the honour of presenting two of ISQua’s most prestigious awards — the Presidential Citation for Distinguished Service Award and the ISQua Life Membership Award — recognising the outstanding dedication and impact of two remarkable individuals.

“It is a tremendous honour for me to stand here today at ISQua’s 41st International Conference in São Paulo to recognise and celebrate the exceptional contributions of two remarkable individuals whose work has truly advanced the mission of ISQua and the global movement for healthcare quality and patient safety.”
— Dr Ezequiel García Elorrio, ISQua President

Presidential Citation for Distinguished Service Award — Helen Haskell

The Presidential Citation for Distinguished Service Award is presented to individuals who have made conspicuous and exceptional contributions to the purposes of ISQua.

This year, the ISQua Board has conferred this honour on Helen Haskell, in recognition of her extraordinary work in ensuring that the patient perspective remains at the heart of healthcare quality and safety worldwide.

Although Helen was unable to attend in person, her presence was deeply felt through the profound and lasting impact of her advocacy. Dr García Elorrio highlighted her tireless efforts to strengthen transparency, communication, and patient engagement across healthcare systems:

“Helen has been instrumental in ensuring that the patient perspective remains central to how we define and pursue healthcare quality and safety. Through her tireless advocacy, Helen has strengthened transparency, communication, and patient engagement across systems worldwide.”

On behalf of ISQua, Dr García Elorrio extended sincere thanks and congratulations to Helen, acknowledging that her contributions have been “of exceptional calibre, and of immense value to our shared goal of inspiring and driving improvements in healthcare quality and safety.”

ISQua Life Membership Award — Shin Ushiro

The ISQua Life Membership Award recognises individuals who have made sustained and exceptional contributions to ISQua’s mission over many years.

Dr García Elorrio was delighted to present this year’s award to Shin Ushiro, whose commitment to ISQua and to advancing patient safety globally has been truly outstanding.

Shin has served on the ISQua Board from 2017 to 2023 and continues to contribute as a member of the Accreditation Council. His leadership has inspired colleagues and Fellows alike, particularly through his contributions to the ISQua Fellowship curriculum, where he has shared his expertise in establishing a no-blame adverse events reporting system and a no-fault compensation scheme for birth injuries.

Beyond his formal roles, Shin has been a steadfast representative of ISQua on the international stage, strengthening relationships with the World Health Organization (WHO) and ensuring that ISQua’s voice is heard at global forums — including the Global Ministerial Summit on Patient Safety in Manila, where ISQua’s Patient Safety White Paper was launched to a worldwide audience.

“His dedication, insight, and leadership have been invaluable, and it is a privilege to formally recognise his lifetime of contributions today.”

As Dr García Elorrio invited Shin to the stage, he concluded with heartfelt appreciation:

“Shin, on behalf of the ISQua Board and our entire community, I extend our heartfelt congratulations and deepest thanks for your exceptional service.”

Celebrating Leadership and Legacy

In closing, Dr García Elorrio invited all delegates to join in congratulating this year’s honourees:

“Please join me in warmly congratulating Helen Haskell and Shin Ushiro for their extraordinary achievements and for their enduring contributions to ISQua and to healthcare quality and patient safety worldwide.”

ISQua proudly recognises both Helen Haskell and Shin Ushiro for their leadership, dedication, and unwavering commitment to improving healthcare for people everywhere.

To learn more about ISQua’s awards and past recipients, visit isqua.org/about/awards.html.

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Elom Otchi

Elom is passionate about improving quality of care and patient safety outcomes.

In view of this, he has had the opportunity to work in various capacities with various organisations including AfIHQSA, WHO, UNICEF and others undertaking research, supporting the development of national quality policies and strategies, facilitating the establishment of quality governance systems across all the levels of the health sector and building capacity of national and sub-national quality leads/teams to institutionalize the practice of quality and patient safety across the continent.

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Stephen Taiye Balogun

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Dr Rhoda Kalondu

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Dr Subhrojyoti Bhowmick

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