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 Dr. James Bagian
- Director, National Center for Patient Safety, Veterans Health
Adminiscradon, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Medical Consultant and Chief Flight Surgeon, Columbia Accident
Investigation Board
- Former Space Shuttle Astronaut
Dr. James P Bagian is a physician and researcher who has combined his medical expertise With a variety of other disciplines. He has served as: a NASA physician and astronaut; a U.S. Air Force flight surgeon; and an engineer with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Navy and the Environmental Protection Agency. He now serves as rhe Director of the National Center for Patient Safety in the Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,
During his 15-year tenure with NASA, Dr. Bagian flew on two Shuttle missions. He also took part in both the planning and provision of emergency medical and rescue support for the first six Shuttle flights. He led the development of a high-altitude pressure suit for crew escape, along with other crew survival equipment. In addition, he was the first to employ a treatment of space motion sickness that has become the standard of care for astronauts in distress. Following the Columbia accident, he was appointed as Medical Consultant and Chief Flight Surgeon for the Columbia Accident Investigation Board.
Dr. Bagian's contributions to military service include advancing new methods of military aircraft ejection seat design and serving as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, As the Special Consultant for Combat Search and Rescue to the Air Command Surgeon General, he was a leader in standardizing pre-hospital combat rescue medical care across all Air Force major commands.
In his current position at the Veterans Health Administration, Dr. Bagian developed and implemented an innovative program aimed at protecting patients from hospital-based errors. This patient-safety program has been put into practice at all 173 VA hospitals, and it is considered to be the benchmark for patient safety in hospitals worldwide. Recognizing this contribution, Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government awarded Dr. Bagian's program its Innovations in American Government Award in 2001. Dr. Bagian received a Bachelor of Science Degree in mechanical engineering from Drexel University in 1973 and a Doctorate in medicine from Thomas Jefferson University in 1977.
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