Dr. Sean Berenholtz

Dr. Sean Berenholtz of Owings Mills, Maryland, passed away on Tuesday, April 16th, 2024, at the age of 57. He is survived by his devoted wife, Ana Goldseker; his loving daughter, Madeline Goldseker Berenholtz; his beloved furbaby, Bella, his father, Jerome Berenholtz (partner Sandy Gordon) and his cousins, Constance Hare (Gary Greenblatt), Jason (Stacey) Taule, and Jessica (Matthew) Cooper. He was predeceased by his cherished mother, Leatha "Lee" Berenholtz (nee Carter) and his grandmother, Connie Carter.

Dr. Berenholtz was a Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine with a joint appointment in the Department of Surgery and Health Policy Management at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. He obtained a degree in business from Towson State University, followed by his M.D. from the Medical College of Virginia. He completed his internship at LDS Hospital in Utah in 1996 prior to his residency and then became an ACCM Fellow at Johns Hopkins in 2000. In 2003 Dr. Berenholtz completed a master's degree in Clinical Investigation through the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. He was promoted to Professor in 2014 and is universally viewed as an outstanding clinician, educator, and researcher.

Dr. Berenholtz repeatedly demonstrated committed citizenship to the Johns Hopkins University, holding prominent leadership roles as the Medical Director of Perioperative Safety in our Department, as the Director of Inpatient Quality and Safety for the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality and as a member of the Executive Committee for the Armstrong Institute.

Dr. Berenholtz contributed to science and advanced the science of implementation and quality improvement by developing practical tools to engage clinicians and frontline staff, developing conceptual models focused on enhancing the delivery of care and advancing implementation science, and implementing several successful multi-hospital dissemination and implementation efforts focused on eliminating preventable harm, including healthcare-associated infection prevention. He had continuous federal funding since 2001 and served as a principal investigator or co-investigator on more than a dozen grants or contracts to develop, implement, and evaluate patient safety improvement efforts. Several of his studies stand as seminal works in improving patient safety.

Recognized as a prominent national and international leader in translating research into practice to improve patient safety and quality, he had been a leader for several national and international task forces to improve patient safety and quality of care across the country and around the globe. Dr. Berenholtz helped organize a World Health Organization-sponsored program to develop a two-year curriculum to teach international scholars about Patient Safety Research. He helped lead a program that included a cohort of 5 African hospitals to improve patient safety and culture. He also served as Director of a program to reduce central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) in a cohort of hospitals in Peru and directed a program to reduce CLABSIs, improve culture, and develop a training program in 8 hospitals in Abu Dhabi. Dr. Berenholtz was the senior author of "Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Prevention" for the 2012 and 2023 "Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Acquired Infections in Acute Care Hospitals" for the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. In recognition of his expertise and efforts, he garnered numerous honors including the 2011 'Barry Farr Award' from the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology, and a 2012 'Presidential Citation for Extraordinary Contributions' from the Society of Critical Care Medicine. His manuscripts have been published in the top-ranked journals of his field including the New England Journal of Medicine, Archives of Internal Medicine, British Medical Journal, Circulation, Critical Care Medicine, Intensive Care Medicine, and Anesthesiology. He served on several AHRQ, CMS, and WHO technical expert panels and presidential advisory panels related to improving patient safety and quality of care.

Aligned with his commitment to serving as an educator and mentor, Dr. Berenholtz continued to be involved with efforts to develop training programs for the Baltimore County Fire Department and the pre-hospital EMS system. He was named the 2019 Baltimore County Council Provider of the Year, 2020 Maryland State Firemen's Association (MSFA) EMS Provider of the Year, and Maryland General Assembly EMS Provider of the Year. Dr. Berenholtz was also a recipient of the 2022 BCVFA Presidents Award as well as a 2023 Baltimore County Fire Departmental Commendation Award. Dr. Berenholtz was one of the Associate Medical Directors of the Baltimore County Fire Department, and was an active member and Vice President of the Pikesville Volunteer Fire Company.

Services at Sol Levinson's Chapel, 8900 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville, MD 21208, on Thursday, April 18th, 2024, at 1:00 pm. Please omit flowers. Contributions in his memory may be sent to the Pikesville Volunteer Fire Department, 40 Sudbrook Lane, Pikesville, MD 21208. The family will be in mourning at 20 Windflower Court, Reisterstown, MD 21136 immediately following service until 5:00 PM, and continuing at 7:00 PM with a service at 7:30 PM. They will continue on Friday beginning at 2:00 PM with a service at 2:30 PM.