How can we apply science to make healthcare safer, better and more human?

This has been a central question in the careers of two of our physicians: Dr. Hardeep Singh, inaugural director of Houston Methodist’s Safety, Quality & Well-Being Institute, and Dr. Shlomit Schaal, Houston Methodist's executive vice president and chief physician executive.

Now, the Houston Methodist Safety, Quality & Well-Being Institute is launching the Lenny C. Katz Scholars Program to cultivate scientific leadership in three critical but often underrepresented areas of research: patient safety, healthcare quality and clinician well-being. Made possible through the generosity of the Katz family, the three-year program will provide physician-scientists with dedicated research time, mentorship and professional development opportunities to drive innovation and help shape the future of health care across these fields.

“Few academic health systems have made a deliberate investment in developing physician-scientists in these areas,” Dr. Singh says.

"Through this program, we have an incredible opportunity not only to lead nationally and globally but also to create an inspirational model others can follow."

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Hardeep Singh, MD

The three institute pillars: discovery, development and delivery

 The institute’s work is guided by what Dr. Singh calls the 3 Ds:

• Discovery: Generating transformative knowledge through interdisciplinary research

• Development: Training and mentoring the next generation of leaders in safety, quality and well-being

• Delivery: Partnering with frontline teams to implement solutions that improve care and the patient experience across Houston Methodist and beyond

The inaugural scholars

The first cohort of the Lenny C. Katz Scholars brings together three physicians whose projects reflect the institute’s mission to translate evidence into real-world improvements.

Safety Scholar: Dr. M. Kathleen Borchardt

An obstetrician-gynecologist with a master’s in healthcare quality and safety from Harvard, Dr. Borchardt has long been drawn to the challenge of making care consistently safer.

“What appealed to me most,” she says, “was the opportunity to have protected time and mentorship dedicated to patient safety while staying connected to clinical care.”

Her program goal is to build infrastructure that bridges frontline clinicians and system-level safety initiatives, developing scalable approaches that make it easier for physicians to engage in safety science.

“Ultimately, I hope the work translates into safer care for patients,” Dr. Borchardt says. “I’d like to showcase what we’re accomplishing at Houston Methodist and help affect patient care beyond our health system.”

Quality Scholar: Dr. Rasi Wickramasinghe

Dr. Wickramasinghe, a cardiologist at Houston Methodist Sugar Land, began his journey into quality improvement unexpectedly when he was tasked with reducing heart failure readmissions. Starting with a 22% readmission rate, he and his team designed a pilot program that reduced it to just 7%.

“We went from being the worst to the best in the system,” he says.

Now, as a Lenny C. Katz Scholar, he will expand that work across hospitals and conditions, from COPD to surgical site infections, while publishing research to share the framework nationally.

“Execution is only one part,” Dr. Wickramasinghe explains. “The other is scholarship, making sure what we learn helps others improve care.”

He credits the program’s protected time and mentorship for enabling bold, system-level changes.

“Words are cheap,” he adds. “Actions speak volumes — and this program shows real commitment to empowering physicians to lead lasting change.”

Well-Being Scholar: Dr. Adarsh Bhimraj

For Dr. Bhimraj, an infectious disease specialist, the pursuit of well-being is deeply personal.

After a heart attack during the pandemic, he realized he had “mistaken exhaustion for dedication and confused self-neglect with service.” His project, ARIA (Actionable Real-Time Insights from Authentic Conversations), will use AI to capture physicians’ experiences of frustration and fulfillment through empathetic, conversational interactions.

The goal is to identify local drivers of clinician burnout and design system-level solutions.

“It’s not survey fatigue — it’s inaction fatigue,” Dr. Bhimraj says. “We want to listen, learn and act. When clinicians are heard, supported and healthy, patients benefit, too.”

He envisions ARIA as a tool to help Houston Methodist and, eventually, other institutions translate data into meaningful action.

“Ultimately, it’s about making a difference for caregivers and the people they care for,” he says.

A model for change

Each scholar’s work embodies the institute’s commitment to discovery, development, and delivery. Together, they are laying the groundwork for a safer, higher-quality, and more humane healthcare system that values patients and the people who care for them.

“This is only the beginning,” Dr. Singh says. “We’re going to develop a pipeline of future national leaders and accelerate the translation of evidence into real-world improvements. The timing couldn’t be better.”