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Richard Vazquez
Dr. Richard Vazquez is a board-certified general surgeon, Affiliated Services Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, and Emeritus Attending Surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. With over 40 years of surgical experience, he has trained generations of physicians while leading innovations in operative safety and digital health systems. He is the founder and CEO of SafeStart Medical, Inc., a surgical safety technology company that helps prevent 'never events' through patient-engaged workflows. His leadership earned the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons’ Innovation of the Year Award. He serves on the SAGES Safe Cholecystectomy Task Force and multiple national advisory boards addressing surgical risk and healthcare AI integration. Dr. Vazquez’s government service includes acting as Chief Medical Officer of the Illinois State Police, where he helped build an early trauma and telemedicine response network. He holds multiple patents, has authored book chapters, scientific articles, and lectures globally on bile duct injury prevention, surgical checklists, and high-reliability team performance. Now based in Spring Hill, Tennessee, Dr. Vazquez continues to write and speak on surgical risk, quality improvement, and patient safety. He is the author of the novel *Damage$: Inside Moves – Mommy, Mommy Wake Up!*, inspired by true events in the medical-legal world.
