2009 Annual National Patient Safety Foundation Congress: conference proceedings.

On May 20 to 22, 2009, the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) held its Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress in National Harbor, Md. Entitled Patient Safety in Challenging Times: Now More Than Ever, A Critical Need, the meeting focused on the need to strengthen efforts to improve patient safety and quality in the midst of the extraordinary economic challenges facing the nation. The Congress was cochaired by the following distinguished individuals: Janet Corrigan, PhD, MBA, president and chief executive officer, National Quality Forum, Lillee Gelinas, RN, MSN, FAAN, vice president and chief nursing officer, VHA, Inc., Doug Bonacum, MBA, BS, vice president for safety management, Kaiser Permanente, and a member of the Board of Directors of NPSF. The main conference was preceded by 3 concurrent day-long workshops: Leadership Day, Patient Safety 101, and Community Engagement from the Patient and Family Perspective. The Congress featured 4 plenary sessions and 35 breakout sessions. This article provides summaries of the plenary sessions.