:Lifebox
{{Short description|Non-profit organization}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Lifebox
| formation = 2011
| image = Lifebox logo.png
| headquarters = England
| founder = Atul Gawande
|leader_title = Global CEO
| leader_name = Kris Torgeson
| website = https://www.lifebox.org/
| remarks = Registered as a charity in England & Wales (#1143018)
}}
The Lifebox Foundation, commonly known as Lifebox, is a non-profit organization that improves the safety of surgery in low-income countries.{{Cite web|last=Foley|first=Katherine Ellen|title=Atul Gawande says the key to hospitals staying resilient is slowing down|url=https://qz.com/work/1942720/atul-gawande-says-the-key-to-resilience-in-hospitals-is-slowing-down/|access-date=2021-12-27|website=Quartz|date=8 December 2020 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=McNeil |first1=Donald G. |title=Where Surgeons Don't Bother With Checklists |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/health/surgeons-checklists.html |work=The New York Times |date=15 January 2020 }}{{Cite web|last=Baker|first=Rachel|date=2020-09-24|title=Reducing surgical site infections in low-resource settings|url=https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2020/09/24/reducing-surgical-site-infections-in-low-resource-settings/|access-date=2021-12-27|website=Scope|language=en-US}}
Background
History
File:Atul-Gawande (cropped).jpg]]
Lifebox was formed as a charity in the United Kingdom in 2011,{{Cite web|last=Feinmann|first=Jane|date=2017-02-14|title=The Little Yellow Box Making Surgery Safer in Developing Countries|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/02/pulse-oximeter/516510/|access-date=2021-12-27|website=The Atlantic|language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Enright |first1=Angela |last2=Merry |first2=Alan |last3=Walker |first3=Isabeau |last4=Wilson |first4=Iain |title=Lifebox: A Global Patient Safety Initiative |journal=A&A Practice |date=15 June 2016 |volume=6 |issue=12 |pages=366–369 |doi=10.1213/XAA.0000000000000335 |pmid=27301049 }} and in the United States in 2015.
The original formation of the organization included representatives of World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists, the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Harvard School of Public Health.
From its foundation until 2022 Lifebox board was chaired by Atul Gawande.{{cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=I. H. |last2=Walker |first2=I. A. |title=Lifebox: give a little, help a lot |journal=BMJ |date=17 January 2012 |volume=344 |issue=jan17 1 |pages=e313 |id={{ProQuest|1945182499}} |doi=10.1136/bmj.e313 |pmid=22251865 |s2cid=270467 }} From 2022 until 2024 the board of Lifebox was chaired by Pauline Philip.{{Cite web|title=Lifebox press release|url=https://www.lifebox.org/news/lifebox-welcomes-new-interim-chair/|access-date=2024-05-14}}, and since 2024 has been chaired by Alex Hannenberg.{{cite web |url=https://www.lifebox.org/about-us/governance/ |title=Governance |author= |date= |website=Lifebox |publisher= |access-date=2025-01-31}}
Activities
The organization promotes the use of checklists before medical surgeries.{{Cite web|last=Laurance|first=Jeremy|date=2011-04-24|title=Atul Gawande: a career built on an obsession with deadly failures|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/atul-gawande-a-career-built-on-an-obsession-with-deadly-failures-2274434.html|access-date=2022-01-05|website=The Independent|language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Weiser |first1=T G |last2=Haynes |first2=A B |title=Ten years of the Surgical Safety Checklist |journal=British Journal of Surgery |date=14 June 2018 |volume=105 |issue=8 |pages=927–929 |doi=10.1002/bjs.10907 |pmid=29770959 |pmc=6032919 }} Use of the checklists reduces surgical mortality and complications.
Lifebox organized hospitals to pool their purchasing power to reduce the cost of pulse oximeters from US$2,000 to $250, and distributed 22,000 hospital-grade pulse oximeters.{{Cite web|title=Surgical NGOs play a crucial role in universal healthcare {{!}} Hospitals|url=https://healthcareglobal.com/hospitals/surgical-ngos-play-crucial-role-universal-healthcare|access-date=2021-12-27|website=Healthcare Global|date=23 December 2020 |language=en}} Lifebox also provides anesthesia training.
References
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