Like passengers on an airplane, patients having surgery put someone else in charge of their safety. And like a pilot, a surgeon and his team must work together seamlessly. Everyone's role has to be clearly defined. If something goes wrong, then a patient's life -- like those of the airplane passengers -- is in jeopardy. Given these similarities, it makes sense that hospitals throughout the region, from Bridgeport to Greenwich and beyond, are looking to the aviation industry and other complicated, high-risk professions to help them run more smoothly and safely. One of the most dramatic instances of this is at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, which hired Brown, an airline pilot for more than 20 years, as project manager of its new Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement program.
