RO-ILS 2023 Radiation Therapist Safety Stars
National Radiologic Technology Week (NRTW®) 2023 is celebrated November 5-11. NRTW is organized by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) as an annual celebration to recognize the vital work of medical imaging and radiation therapy professions in patient care and health care safety. The 2023 theme is "Patients Are Our Passion. Safety Is Our Priority." ASRT is a proud supporter of the RO-ILS program.
Last year, RO-ILS released the 2022 great catch to highlight a case where an attentive radiation therapist recognized unreasonable monitor units and stopped an incorrect treatment from being delivered. The newly released 2023 great catch shares an event in which a conversation between therapists and the patient resulted in a revised treatment plan and improved cancer care. The documents include lessons learned and safety questions to provoke introspection.
To promote practices and people that are making headway in safety, RO-ILS is recognizing specific radiation therapists for their contributions to patient safety. RO-ILS participants were invited to nominate their colleagues. While only a few are being recognized, many fantastic therapists were nominated and are worthy of acknowledgment in their own right. ASTRO's RO-ILS committee volunteers reviewed anonymized information and focused on how the nominees exemplified safety culture principles, invested in incident learning and led quality improvement initiatives.
Congratulations to the 2023 Radiation Therapist Safety Stars! (Listed in alphabetical order.)
 | Danica Bolton, RTT |
"Danica exemplifies a true safety culture. She is an advocate for her patients and her openness in discussing finds small and big has empowered our team to do the same. With Danica’s suggestion, we have added a “good finds” portion to our monthly therapist meetings. Danica’s expertise in CBCT imaging has excelled our team’s analyzing and matching, directly resulting in huge benefits for our patients."
—Kristen Savard, RTT, Chief Radiation Therapist
 | Stacey Grubb, RT(T) |
“Stacey is our chief therapist and center to our radiotherapy program. She heads our patient safety reporting, including submission of cases to RO-ILS . She is continually looking at process improvement, including ways to optimize clinical workflows and ensure safe, efficient care of our patients. She goes above and beyond in her daily work and was a key player in our APEx certification. She exemplifies the principles of safety culture we uphold in our clinic.”
—William Tristram Arscott, MD, Radiation Oncologist
 | Timothy Hahn, RTT |
“Tim embodies high-reliability principles by focusing on learning from near misses. He led the transition from paper to electronic incident reporting with RO-ILS, empowering staff to improve safety processes. As Incident Learning Team leader, he integrates safety culture into daily workflow. He also runs a Good Catch award, reinforcing a culture of proactive safety. Beyond his department, Tim contributes to the Safety Event Classification Workgroup, sharing his expertise across the organization.
— John Ready, PhD, DABR, Medical Physicist
