O'Leary, Dennis S.

Dennis S. O'Leary is the former long-time president of the Joint Commission, the leading healthcare accrediting body in the United States. Under his leadership, the Joint Commission's accreditation process successfully changed from being primarily focused on the structural measures of healthcare organizations to process measures and care-related outcomes. He also started cutting edge healthcare standards relating to pain management, patient safety, emergency preparedness, and the use of patient restraints. And he launched a series of public policy initiatives.

A Kansas native, O'Leary earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in New York. After 2 years of internal medicine training at the University of Minnesota Hospital, he completed his residency and a hematology fellowship at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Hematology.

Prior to joining the Joint Commission, O'Leary spent 15 years at the George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. At the medical center, he was a professor of medicine, and he served as a senior manager in several positions. He was the medical director of the university's hospital for 10 years, the dean for clinical affairs at the university, and the vice president of the university's health plan, an academic health maintenance organization (HMO). In 1981, O'Leary received national attention for his role as the university hospital's spokesman for the care given to President Ronald Reagan after he was shot in a failed assassination attempt. He frequently briefed the national and international news media about the president's medical progress.

O'Leary became president of the Joint Commission in 1986. During his 21 years at the Joint Commission, he greatly expanded its scope and size. Under his leadership, the organization moved beyond its original hospital base to accredit a wide range of extended-care and ambulatory-care service organizations. It initiated an international accreditation program and a consultation services program. And the organization undertook a series of projects with the World Health Organization (WHO). Under O'Leary, the Joint Commission's budget and staff quadrupled in size.

During his career, O'Leary received many awards and honors. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM). He also is a master of the American College of Physicians and a fellow of the American College of Physician Executives, the American College of Healthcare Executives, and the American Dental Association. In 2000, Modern Healthcare magazine identified him as one of the nation's 25 most influential leaders in healthcare during the past quarter-century. In 2005, he was given the Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor from the American Medical Association (AMA), for his advancement of healthcare quality and patient safety. And in 2006, he received the Ernest Armory Codman Award from the Joint Commission for his leadership role in using performance measures to improve healthcare quality and safety.

After leaving the Joint Commission at the end of 2007, O'Leary was appointed to the board of directors of the Consumers Advancing Patient Safety (CAPS), an organization that promotes patient-centered healthcare.