University of Pennsylvania Health System
21 Penn Tower
399 S. 34th Street
Philadelphia
PAUSA
19104
Biographical Sketch: Dr. PJ Brennan is the Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Professor of Medicine at the School of Medicine and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
As Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brennan is developing greater collaboration between physicians and nurses in order to improve clinical accountability and the outcomes of care, particularly in the area of healthcare associated infections. Dr. Brennan also oversees the departments of Healthcare Quality, Patient Safety, Regulatory Affairs, and Medical Affairs. He has recently developed a Center for Evidence-Based Practice to apply scientific evidence to clinical operations.
Dr. Brennan is an infectious diseases physician and previously served as director of Infection Control at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for 11 years. He also served as the Director of Tuberculosis Control for the City of Philadelphia. He is a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and served as president of SHEA in 2008.
In 2004 Secretary Tommy Thompson appointed Dr. Brennan to chair the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) for the Department of Health and Human Services. This committee advises the Secretary and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion on a broad range of issues related to control of infectious diseases. In 2010 Dr. Brennan received a CDC Lifetime Achievement Award in the discipline of Policy Impact for his contributions to infection prevention, healthcare epidemiology, and patient protection.
Dr. Brennan is also a member of the Patient Safety Advisory Group (formerly called the Sentinel Event Advisory Group) of The Joint Commission. The group provides expert advice on developing national patient-safety goals as they relate to unexpected occurrences involving death or serious physical or psychological injury.