Carla Braxton oversees and incorporates medical staff leadership into a comprehensive quality and patient safety program. Among her many other responsibilities she is responsible for the integration of quality, patient safety, performance improvement, risk management and infection control into the daily operations of the hospital. Braxton is an active surgical critical care specialist who enjoys patient care. As Chief Medical Officer, she is heavily involved in physician leader development, in crafting the physician’s role in leading and supporting patient safety, and in improving physician-patient/family communication. Braxton now serves as the first Director of Physician Professional Development for the Houston Methodist Physicians Organization. In this role she is continuing course development and facilitation for the Houston Methodist/Rice University Business School custom physician leader program. She has been recently appointed as Education Director for the new Houston Methodist Quality/Patient Safety Institute as part of the leadership triad for Quality, Education and Research.