PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA—Marcus Schabacker, MD, PhD, president and chief executive officer of ECRI, an independent nonprofit organization that improves the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of healthcare, has been honored by the Philadelphia Business Journal with a Leaders in Healthcare 2021 Award. This award recognizes Schabacker for making an indelible impact in ensuring patient safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Schabacker took important steps in early 2020 to prepare the healthcare community for what would become a global pandemic. He established the ECRI COVID-19 Resource Center with free and shareable information on emergency preparedness, infection prevention, and medical treatments, processes, and practices. Leading healthcare authorities endorsed the site spurring nearly half a million page views by people worldwide seeking emergency preparedness checklists, personal protective equipment (PPE) supplier lists, infection control best practices, and clinical evidence assessments.

ECRI’s COVID-19 Resource Center currently includes more than 350 publicly available resources, lab webcast recordings, and clinical guidelines. The most recent guidance addresses vaccine safety and global health equity and an evidence review supporting the effectiveness of masks, as part of an infection control bundle, for children in schools.

“As we learned more about the virus, the treatments, protocol, and processes changed. ECRI monitored and communicated these developments, debunking myths and providing evidence-based strategies for managing equipment shortages, medication safety issues, and mental health concerns,” says Schabacker.

Throughout the pandemic, Schabacker has been interviewed extensively by national news outlets. His leadership enabled ECRI, a respected patient safety organization, to step to the forefront in developing evidence-based guidance that empowered providers with the information they required to meet worker and patient needs during unprecedented challenges.

“I am proud of how ECRI came together to create the COVID-19 Resource Center which became a ‘go-to’ source of trustworthy guidance worldwide. Beyond that, I am incredibly proud of how our employees quickly transitioned to an all-virtual work environment, and seamlessly provided trusted evidence-based assurance to our members and the public during a time of fear and uncertainty,” adds Schabacker.

Schabacker joined ECRI in January 2018, as the nonprofit organization’s third CEO in its 53-year history. ECRI is headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, PA, with international offices in the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates. Schabacker is a board-certified anesthesiologist and intensive care specialist with more than 35 years of healthcare experience in complex global environments, and more than 20 years of senior leadership responsibilities serving the medical device and pharmaceutical industries.

For more information about Marcus Schabacker and ECRI’s role in guiding the healthcare community and the public with evidence-based guidance, download the ECRI COVID-19 Journey.

The Philadelphia Business Journal is hosting the Healthcare Leaders for 2021 Awards Ceremony virtually on October 14; all honorees will be featured Special Section in the Philadelphia Business Journal on October 15.

For more information, visit www.ecri.org, e-mail communications@ecri.org, or call (610) 825-6000, ext. 5891.

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• Philadelphia Business Journal honors @SchabackerECRI, CEO of @ECRI_Org with Leaders in Healthcare 2021 Award

About ECRI

ECRI is an independent, nonprofit organization improving the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of care across all healthcare settings. With a focus on patient safety, evidence-based medicine, and health technology decision solutions, ECRI is respected and trusted by healthcare leaders and agencies worldwide. Over the past fifty years, ECRI has built its reputation on integrity and disciplined rigor, with an unwavering commitment to independence and strict conflict-of-interest rules.

ECRI is the only organization worldwide to conduct independent medical device evaluations, with labs located in North America and Asia Pacific. ECRI is designated an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices PSO is a federally certified Patient Safety Organization as designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) formally became an ECRI Affiliate in 2020.

Visit www.ecri.org and follow @ECRI_Org.

For more information, contact:
Laurie Menyo, Director of Strategic Communications
610.825.6000 ext. 5310
lmenyo@ecri.org