Susan Sheridan

Susan Sheridan Speaker Biography

Susan E. Sheridan, MIM, MBA, became involved in patient safety after her family experienced two serious medical system failures. Her husband, Pat, died in 2002 after his diagnosis of spinal cancer failed to be communicated. Their son, Cal, suffered brain damage called kernicterus five days after his birth in 1995 when his neonatal jaundice was untreated.

Sheridan is co-founder and past President of Parents of Infants and Children with Kernicterus, which works in partnership with private and public health agencies to eradicate kernicterus. In 2003, Sheridan co-founded Consumers Advancing Patient Safety, a nonprofit organization that seeks a safe, compassionate and just healthcare system through proactive partnership between consumers and providers of care. Sheridan served at President of CAPS from 2003-2010.

In 2004, Sheridan was asked to lead the World Health Organization’s Patients for Patient Safety initiative, a program under the WHO Patient Safety Program.
She speaks frequently on patient safety and legal reform at national and international events. In April 2009, Sheridan was named to Modern Healthcare's list of Top 25 Women in Healthcare as well as Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare. In 2010 Sheridan was awarded the “Idaho Healthcare Hero” in community outreach by the Idaho Business Review and in 2011 Sheridan was appointed by The Secretary of Health and Human Services to serve on the Advisory Committee on Infant Mortality of the Health Resources and Services Administration for 2011-2013.

Sheridan received her BA from Albion College and her MIM and MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management. She has a professional background in international banking and served in Ecuador with her late husband, Pat, as Peace Corps volunteers. She lives in Boise, ID with her children, Cal and Mackenzie.