Richard P. Shannon, MD: Giving to Build a Better Future for Patients

For Richard P. Shannon, MD, lasting change rarely comes from a single dramatic moment, but rather from people making small but meaningful contributions over time.

That belief inspired Shannon; his wife, Brandy Patterson, MD, an oncology cardiologist at Duke; and their daughter, Grace, to make a gift to the Duke Health Patient Care Fund, helping ensure that promising ideas have the support they need to move forward. The fund provides flexible support to help Duke Health respond quickly to its greatest needs while advancing initiatives that can make a lasting difference for patients.

For Shannon, philanthropy is rooted in a sense of responsibility to give back.

"My wife and I came from modest means," Shannon said. "We are fortunate to be at this point in our careers and at one of the top institutions in the world. We believe we have an obligation to give back."

That commitment to serving others has shaped Shannon's career in medicine as well.

A nationally recognized leader in quality and safety, Shannon serves as senior vice president and chief medical officer for Duke University Health System and chief quality officer for Duke Health. Throughout his career, he has been guided by a simple but profound goal to make health care safer and better for every patient. 

Shannon’s journey began in 1988 when the late Paul O'Neill, former CEO of Alcoa, challenged health care to take patient safety as seriously as industry took workplace safety.

Their conversation launched a decades-long exploration of safety science and set Shannon on the path to becoming one of health care's leading advocates for improving quality and reducing harm. 

"When Chancellor Washington recruited me in 2019, I could have gone anywhere, but I had admired Duke for a very long time," Shannon said. "What sets Duke apart is its willingness to tackle the most complex problems while continually innovating to improve outcomes."

Since arriving at Duke, Shannon has seen firsthand how collaboration and persistence turn small advances into transformational breakthroughs. One example is Duke's heart transplant program, which has helped redefine what is possible in organ donation and transplantation.

"The success of Duke's heart transplant program shows what can happen when people make incremental advances year after year," Shannon said. "Those efforts created new opportunities for heart donation and transplantation that are changing lives."

The same philosophy has also shaped his efforts to improve patient outcomes across Duke Health.

When Shannon and his team examined Duke-specific data on maternal morbidity, they found that Black women were more likely to experience pregnancy-related complications than white women. Rather than accepting the disparity, they set out to understand the contributing factors and identify practical solutions.

"Some of the solutions were surprisingly simple," Shannon said. "By removing barriers to prenatal care, like aligning ob-gyn appointment times with bus schedules, we reduced maternal morbidity among Black mothers by 48% in just 18 months."

The maternal health initiative is one of many efforts Shannon and his colleagues have undertaken to identify and eliminate disparities in patient care. Duke has examined outcomes across numerous clinical areas, including diabetes care and colorectal cancer screening, using data to better understand where gaps exist and how they can be addressed.

Those efforts embody the values that inspired the Shannon family's recent gift.

“Rick has dedicated his career to making care safer and better for every patient, and he brings that same sense of responsibility to this gift,” said David Zaas, MD, MBA, chief executive officer of Duke University Health System. “His family’s generosity will give our teams more freedom to pursue promising ideas and turn them into meaningful improvements for the people we serve.”

For Shannon, supporting innovation through philanthropy is a natural extension of the work that has defined his career.

"Duke is a place where small things become big things," Shannon said. "Our gift will allow someone to do something they couldn't do otherwise and help move a field forward."