The Lean Business Transformation & Operational Excellence in Healthcare Summit (BTOESHEALTH)

Biography

Bruce Darrow, M.D., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Medicine/Cardiology, Senior Vice President of Information Technology, and Chief Medical Information Officer for the Mount Sinai Health System. He graduated summa cum laude from Yale University and received his doctorates from Washington University in St. Louis.

As an academic physician, he has been recognized for excellence in medical education and patient care at every level of his training. During his medical residency at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, his peers awarded him the Dr. Joseph N. Muschel Housestaff Award for combining clinical skills with empathetic and compassionate care. In 2007 and 2009 he won the Solomon Berson Teaching Award from the Department of Medicine for the most significant contribution to housestaff education, and the Mount Sinai Hospital Department of Nursing has made him a four-time nominee and 2012 winner of the Attending Physician of the Year Award. Dr. Darrow is a Castle Connolly Top Doctor in the NY Metro Area for 2016-2018, as well as a 2017 recipient of Mount Sinai's Cullman Family Award for Excellence in Physician Communication, recognizing physicians with top percentile ranking nationally for communication with patients.

In 2009, Dr. Darrow completed a Clinical Quality Fellowship Program sponsored by the Greater New York Hospital Association and the United Hospital Fund, and he served for several years as the physician chair of the Heart Hospital Performance Improvement Committee and Directory of Telemetry Services at Mount Sinai Hospital, as well as a member of several other hospital quality improvement committees. During his tenure as CMIO, the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) awarded Mount Sinai Hospital the 2012 Davies Enterprise Award for excellence in health information technology and use of electronic health records to improve quality of care and patient safety.

Dr. Darrow is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in both Cardiovascular Disease and General Internal Medicine, and he is also Board Certified in Clinical Informatics by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. In 2005, Dr. Darrow was awarded Fellowship in the American College of Cardiology, and he is a member of the American Heart Association.

In clinical practice, Dr. Darrow treats ambulatory patients with a broad spectrum of cardiac conditions, including hypertension, high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, valvular heart disease, and heart rhythm abnormalities.

Biography

Bill Owad, senior vice president of Operational Excellence specializes in the strategies and tools that support the pursuit of a lean enterprise. Working with a team of nearly 150 Operational Excellence staff members and coaches aross Cardinal Health, Owad is responsible for developing and implementing an enterprise approach to Operational Excellence at Cardinal Health, ultimately improving the value delivered to the company’s customers.

In addition to his role as senior vice president, Owad also supports the extension of Operational Excellence external to Cardinal Health as the executive sponsor for the company’s relationships with the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) Partner Program, the Healthcare Value Network, The Ohio State University Fisher College Center for Operational Excellence and the Conference Board Quality Council. During his tenure, Owad has held several positions within Operational Excellence and has served as the primary architect of the company’s enterprise-wide deployment of Operational Excellence, which, over eight years, yielded significant improvements in customer loyalty, employee engagement, operational performance and working capital utilization.

Prior to joining Cardinal Health, Owad held several operations and administrative roles that have used the tools of Lean Six Sigma to transform health care provider organizations, supply chain and medical supply companies. These roles include corporate director of quality for ProMedica Health System, executive director for Cordelia Martin Health Center and several adjunct faculty positions with the College of Pharmacy at the University of Toledo and other nationally recognized programs.

Owad is also active in the community, serving in the past as board chair for the Central Ohio American Red Cross BioMedical Services, board chair for Cordelia Martin Health Center, senior examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program, and examiner / team leader for the Ohio Award for Excellence. Currently, Owad serves as a board member for the Partnership for Excellence, Mid-Ohio Foodbank, and the ASHP Research and Education Foundation.

Owad received his bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and his Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Toledo. His post-graduate work includes the achievement of Fellow status with the American College of Healthcare Executives, multiple Lean Six Sigma certifications and continued development as a Lean leader through his work with Cardinal Health and LEI. Owad has also authored several publications and presentations on quality systems and customer loyalty. 

Biography

Valentine Boving is a Sr. Healthcare Systems Engineer at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) in Houston, Texas.  She holds a Masters degree in Manufacturing Engineering and also in Cellular Genetics and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Leadership.  Ms. Boving has served on the Boards of ASQ (American Society of Quality) and IISE (Institute for Industrial and Systems Engineering) as Secretary and currently as President-Elect of the Lean Division.  She is also a CQE (Certified Quality Engineer) and CSSBB (Certified Six Sigma Black Belt).   She practices her leadership skills as President of her homeowners’ association.

During her 18 years in quality, Ms. Boving’s healthcare projects have received awards on the city, state and national levels.  In May 2016 she was invited to Beijing, China to speak on Lean:  Building a Quality Culture in Healthcare.  In September 2016 and 2017 she was invited to speak to a visiting Chinese delegation of physicians on Total Lean Management at Baylor University College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

A gifted teacher, Ms. Boving leads training classes in Lean and Six Sigma in which she mentors her students through their required projects.  She has made revisions to the curriculum periodically in order that the material remains relevant with the times.

Ms. Boving enjoys volunteering in her community at the Houston Humane Society, a nonprofit organization that finds adoptive families for its rescued dogs and cats.  In addition, as a certified R.A.D. (Royal Academy of Dancing) ballet teacher, she enjoys teaching ballet classes to the employees at MDACC.

Biography

Edgardo’s healthcare career started at the NCH Healthcare System in Naples, Florida. He spent almost 20 years there working in many clinical and support departments from Accounting to X-Rays and everything in between. He learned hospital management from the ground up, and has a great appreciation for the role of every member of the team.

He is active member of the Baton Rouge Health District, the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge and the Louisiana Hospital Association.  His favorite charities are the Baton Rouge General Foundation and Hogar de la Madre (a convent in Spain where his daughter is a nun.) In his spare time he enjoys reading on his back porch, riding dirt bikes on the single track trails of the Kisatchie National Forest and playing golf with his wife, Kelli Joan.  He has four beautiful children – Joan Isabel, Alex, Kristen and Cecilia Zoe.

Biography

With more than 28 years of Healthcare Management experience, John A. Ludwig, RN, MHA, is currently serving as the President and CEO of HSHS St. Joseph Hospital Highland, a 25 bed Critical Access Hospital.  Prior to his current position John was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Bridgton Hospital and Rumford Hospital – both 25-bed Critical Access Hospitals of the Central Maine Healthcare System. Prior to his appointment as COO to these two facilities, he was the COO/Chief Nursing Officer at Bridgton Hospital, and earlier the Administrative Nursing Director at St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake St. Louis Missouri – an affiliate of SSM Healthcare. He also worked at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

John is a Licensed Registered Nurse with 40 years of experience which started in the United States Air force in Wiesbaden Germany where he cared for the Hostages of Iran upon their release and finished as a Flight Nurse with well over 1000 hours in the air.  He has a Master of Science in Healthcare Administration from Lindenwood University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from St. Louis University. He has an impressive healthcare business background, a proven record of strong leadership and operating performance, a demonstrated ability to improve quality and patient access to care, and knowledge to increase accountability and results. His financial acumen, attention to detail, and management of million-dollar construction and renovation projects has led to state-of-the-art facilities with more efficient operations and better care.

He is an active member of the community and is supported by his wife Cynthia of 41 years.

Biography

Ms. Pratt earned a Master of Health Administration from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 1986.  Upon completing her masters, Ms. Pratt was an Assistant Administrator at Tulane University Hospital and Clinic until 1992. From 1992 to 2004, Mary Ellen was an Assistant Administrator at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center in Thibodaux, Louisiana.  In 2004 Ms. Pratt returned to academic medical centers, by serving as the Administrator of University Hospital and Clinics-Holmes County, owned by the University of Mississippi Medical Center.  Since 2007 Mary Ellen Pratt has been the Chief Executive Officer at St. James Parish Hospital.

Mary Ellen serves as the Past Chair of the AHA Small and Rural Hospital Governing Council and a member of HRSA’s Office of Rural Health Policy Rural Health Issues Group.  She is on the Board of the Louisiana Hospital Association and serves on the Quality Committee and Finance Committee. She has been appointed to the Medicaid Hospital Payment Reform Committee for the Louisiana Department of Health, the HIT Advisory Council for the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum and the Rural Health System and Technical Assistance (RHSATA) Advisory Committee.  Mary Ellen was named in Becker’s “50 Rural Hospital CEOs to Know” in 2015, 2016 and 2017and she is currently a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the National Rural Health Association.

Biography

A Master Black Belt in Lean Sigma, Winner has managed the instruction and coaching for the projects of hundreds of health care Green Belts. Winner earned her BSN from The Johns Hopkins University, followed by an MBA in the Business of Medicine program at The Johns Hopkins University School of Professional Studies. She received her Six Sigma Black Belt Certification from Motorola University and has over ten years of clinical nursing experience at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Emergency Nursing and Cardiology.

Biography

Biography

Anne Marie Benedicto, MPP, MPH is the Vice President of the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare.  Ms. Benedicto is an expert in Robust Process Improvement (RPI^®) and high reliability methods applied to health care clinical and business processes.  At the Center for Transforming Healthcare, Ms. Benedicto leads the Center’s initiatives to transform health care into a high reliability industry by strengthening organizational systems and structures that support zero harm. 

Ms. Benedicto previously was chief of staff and executive vice president of Support Operations for The Joint Commission from 2008 through 2015. In that role, she was integral to the building of the company’s internal RPI^® program, a systematic, data-driven methodology that incorporates Lean Six Sigma and formal change management. She also led the organization’s first RPI^® training within a healthcare facility.  In addition, she directed Center operations from 2008 through 2013, overseeing the development of solutions sets for hand hygiene, hand-off communications, and wrong site surgery, and the design of electronic applications such as the Targeted Solutions Tool^® or TST^®.

Prior to joining The Joint Commission, Ms. Benedicto was the administrator for both the Office for Excellence in Patient Care at the Mount Sinai Medical Center and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine Department of Health Policy. She also held finance-related positions at the New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation, including Reimbursement Director for Bellevue Hospital Center.  Most recently, Ms. Benedicto was assistant vice president of hospital operations at Montefiore Medical Center in New York.

Ms. Benedicto holds a master of public policy and administration and a master of public health from Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a trained Green Belt and Change Leader.

Biography

Didier Rabino is HealthEast Care System’s Vice President, Executive Lean Sensei. His role is to coach senior executives, coordinate the lean transformation and develop organizational Lean capabilities. Previously, Didier spent 8 years at Andersen Corporation as plant manager in Menomonie, WI and as the leader of the Lean Promotion Office to develop and deploy the Andersen Manufacturing System (AMS.) Didier also worked 13 years at Steelcase in England, France and Michigan. There, he held several leadership positions in operations, R&D and logistics. He is proud to be one of the architects of the Steelcase Production System (SPS.) Over the past 25 years, Didier has been leading and supporting lean transformations and new process implementations in manufacturing and healthcare organizations.

Didier has been Director of the AME North Central Region Board since 2008, an instructor for Manufacturers Alliance and for the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) since 2007, and an instructor for AME, SME, ASQ, Shingo Lean Bronze certification class and associated exam. Didier shares his experiences by teaching all aspects of Lean tools, techniques and management systems. He is also a regular presenter at Lean Conferences.

Didier holds a Wood Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Nancy, France, a Business and Administration degree from the University of Perpignan, France and a Master’s degree in Industrial Sciences from Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, France. He obtained Lean certificates from the University of Michigan, the University of Tennessee, and Kellogg University. Didier is also lean bronze certified from Shingo/AME/SME/ASQ and 3P certified from Shingijutsu Global Consulting.

Didier is the 27th recipient of the Honorary Member Award of the Institute of Industrial Engineering. Award received in 2015. Past recipients include Edwards Deming, Lee Iacocca, W. Von Braun and Herbert C. Hoover.

Biography

Chuck DeBusk is Vice President; Performance & Process Improvement for UHS of Delaware, a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, Inc. Chuck’s current role is to provide leadership to Operations and Clinical Process Improvement, Pharmacy, Surgery, Radiology and Laboratory.  Chuck has over 30 years experience in healthcare and healthcare process improvement and is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and a Registered Professional Engineer.  He holds an MS in industrial engineering from the University of Tennessee and a BS in industrial engineering and operations research from Virginia Tech. He can be reached at Charles.debusk@uhsinc.com.

Biography

Yona is an Executive level finance operations, program management and business integration expert with 20+ years of hands-on experience and a passion for solving complex problems and working with diverse teams across functions, regions and businesses. 

Biography

Amy Kosifas is Director of Sharp University at Sharp HealthCare, an integrated healthcare system in San Diego, where she is responsible for leadership development and physician leadership development activities.  She also has primary oversight for Sharp’s High Reliability Organization (HRO) initiative. Prior to joining Sharp, she was Program Manager for performance excellence at the Port of San Diego. Earlier positions focused on strategic planning and quality improvement at hospital systems in the Midwest, including Northwestern Healthcare and Henry Ford Hospital.  Amy is an ASQ-certified Six Sigma Black Belt and a Certified Professional in Patient Safety. She serves on the Executive Board of the California Council for Excellence, California’s state program affiliated with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Smith College and her MBA in Health Administration from the University of Chicago. 

Biography

Steve Stenberg is the Senior Director of Process Improvement at Spectrum Health, a 26,000-employee integrated healthcare system with 12 hospitals and over 180 ambulatory sites as well as an award winning Health Plan. Spectrum Health has been recently named one of the nation’s top 15 health systems for the sixth time. Steve works with all facets of the health care system, from the insurance side, revenue cycle, hospital and ambulatory operations. Major projects Steve and his team are working on are the transition to one EMR system as well as optimizing revenue cycle operations and the strategy deployment. Steve is also actively working on integrating the various improvement methodologies within the health system.

 Steve has over 30 years’ experience in leadership and continuous improvement. He has studied and implemented lean systems in many different industries. Steve has spent the last 4 years at Spectrum Health.

Steve started his career in the automotive industry working for 17 years at Donnelly Corporation where he held many different positions such as General Manager, Plant Manager, Manufacturing Manager, Advanced Quality Engineer as well as Shop Floor Supervisor. Steve has also spent 10 years as an Independent Lean Consultant for healthcare and manufacturing companies. Some notable clients are ITT, Honeywell, Dublin Aerospace, Faurecia, Johnson & Johnson, Florida hospital, Carolinas Healthcare and Trinity Health to name a few. He has completed 3P events and projects in Mexico, China, Japan, Ireland, Canada, Czech Republic and the United states. Steve is deeply trained in the Toyota Production System and Shingo Principles, and is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Champion, and contributing author to Shingo Award Winning book, Leveraging Lean in Healthcare, and co-author of Lean Practitioner’s Field Book. He holds an Industrial Engineering degree.

Biography

Dr. Lei Choi joined UCSF Health in 2015. She is the Medical Director of the Lean Transformation Office and a practicing physician in the UCSF Division of General Internal Medicine.

Dr. Choi graduated from Princeton University in 1992 and received an M.D degree from Duke University School of Medicine. She completed an Internal Medicine residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and earned a Master of Public Health degree with distinction from Tufts Medical Center.

While at Tufts Medical Center, Dr. Choi served as the Acting Chief of the Division of General Medicine and the Director of the Adult Asian Health Initiative. In these positions, she actively optimized healthcare access for the Boston Asian immigrant community.

In 2004, Dr. Choi relocated to San Francisco with her family, and built a thriving primary care practice in Pacific Heights. She joined the core internal medicine teaching faculty at Sutter Health California Pacific Medical Center, and launched a residency-wide curriculum for patient safety and quality improvement. This work directly increased resident and fellow engagement in clinical and operational initiatives throughout the organization.

Dr. Choi was appointed Director for the Lean Healthcare across the Sutter Health San Francisco campuses in 2013. Over the course of two years, she played a critical role in the successful adoption of a comprehensive Lean system throughout the Bay Area for Sutter Health.

In 2015, Dr. Choi joined the faculty at UCSF Health as the Medical Director of the Lean Transformation Office. There, she has been responsible for engaging physicians in UCSF’s Lean Management System, and developing Lean training efforts for faculty, residents, and fellows. Dr. Choi is dedicated to coaching leadership behaviors, developing competent, innovative problem solvers, and advancing high quality, patient-centered care.

Biography

Christopher Govero has over 15 years of Lean/Six Sigma process improvement experience in a wide range of industries, including Healthcare, Manufacturing Government, Department of Defense, Education and other service industries.  He has also spent time consulting both domestically and abroad.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Missouri Southern State University and a Master of Business Administration from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri.  In addition, he also holds an ASQ Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification.

Chris currently works as the Executive Director of Performance Improvement and Outpatient Services at HSHS St. Elizabeth’s in Belleville, IL. His key responsibilities include leading hospital wide Lean Six Sigma efforts as well as operations in Outpatient and Revenue Cycle departments.

Biography

With nearly 30 years of experience in performance improvement and personal transformational technologies, Geoffrey P. Gamble lends his expertise to individuals and organizations who seek to create new possibilities and outcomes for themselves and those they influence.  Using a unique mix of ontological and experiential learning techniques, Lean PI methodologies, and personalized life coaching, Geoffrey’s work provides new perspectives on nearly any interest or commitment, beginning with a simple question:  "Are you happy" with the way things are right now?

Geoffrey currently supports the work of transforming healthcare in the United States at Kaiser Permanente, initially as an Employee/Labor Relations Consultant in 2008, then Senior HR Consultant in 2010, and now – since 2012 – as Senior Consultant for Performance Improvement, Unit-Based Team Development, Employee Engagement, and Culture Change.  Since 2013, he has developed and lead Kaiser Permanente’s summer youth internship program in California’s Central Valley, training high-school-aged students and their company counterparts to implement innovative performance improvement projects that transform leadership engagement and care delivery though younger eyes and a fresh, new perspective in making a difference.

In his work, Geoffrey has consulted and engaged with several the leaders of US labor unions, including Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), and the California Nurses Association (CNA).   He’s also cut his teeth through work with the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (FMCS).

Geoffrey holds an honors degree in Communications Studies (Film, Video, and Popular Culture) with a minor in Sociology from Virginia Tech, studied Cinema in graduate school at San Francisco State University, and trained under transformational thinkers such as Werner Erhard, Steve Zaffron, Dave Logan, Randy McNamara, and others through Werner Erhard & Associates, Landmark Education, and Landmark Worldwide.

His unique perspective incorporates a sense of realism, determination, and humor that can cut through the barriers experienced in life to provide a sense of purpose and concrete action to face whatever's next for people and their families, communities, and organizations. 

Comic novelist ("Breakfast with a Cereal Killer"), sociopolitical activist, classic Volkswagen enthusiast, and sometimes smartass, Geoffrey lives in Tracy, California, with his husband Kevin Metzger, their three dogs, and an African Grey parrot.  His approach is often seen as just what’s needed need to help uncover and explore potential solutions hiding in the periphery of what you don't know that you don't know.  Come play.

Biography

Dr. Joseph Perno currently serves as the Medical Staff Affairs Officer overseeing
credentialing, privileging and physician quality initiatives for Johns Hopkins All Children’s
Hospital (JHACH). He also works as a pediatric emergency medicine physician in the
JHACH ER.

In addition, Dr. Perno serves as medical director for care coordination at
JHACH. He is focused on aligning clinical resources across the continuum of care to
enhance quality and patient safety and provide high quality, value-based services.

Dr. Perno joined the JHACH in 2003 as an attending pediatric emergency medicine
physician and served as assistant medical director of the pediatric emergency department
from 2005 through 2015. He chaired the JHACH Medicine Quality of Care committee and in 2009 was named vice chairman of the Department of Pediatrics. He has chaired or been a key member of several system innovation and quality improvement efforts at JHACH. Dr. Perno served as chief of the medical staff for 2016.

Dr. Perno is board-certified in both pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine. He
completed his residency at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School-UMDNJ and his pediatric emergency medicine fellowship at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.

He is active in patient, family and community education efforts and in 2009 was honored by
the Clearwater Free Clinic as its 2009 Physician of the Year.

Biography

Dr. David Linz is an Internal Medicine physician who practices in Marco Island, Florida.  He is a key core faculty member and the Director of Quality Improvement and Research for the NCH Healthcare System Internal Medicine Residency Program, an affiliate of Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.  Dr. Linz also serves as the Chief Medical Informatics Officer for NCH Healthcare System. 

Biography

Kristin began her nursing career in the Emergency Department and has held positions in case management, clinical education and administration. As Director of Clinical Excellence responsible for Salem Hospital’s initial Magnet® designation, Kristin became one of the first Kaizen Fellows who traveled to Japan, Virginia Mason and Boeing to learn about Lean. She quickly realized the potential for Lean to impact quality of patient care, and has since moved into a Lean specialist role to guide others to a Lean mindset.

Since joining PeaceHealth in 2014, Kristin has coached leaders and staff to a Lean mindset, primarily through implementation and use of a Daily Management System (DMS) at the local and system level. Kristin partnered with leaders to adapt DMS to manage daily operations related to infection control breaches and subsequent incident response at two PeaceHealth hospitals. Kristin presented that work and outcomes at a national conference in 2017. She is now the Performance Improvement liaison to the Quality department, guiding the department to use of DMS to implement FY18 Clinical Excellence initiatives.

Kristin received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from North Park University in Chicago, IL, and a Master’s of Public Health from Portland State University in Portland, OR. She enjoys singing, playing the cello, yoga, and her lovely family and friends. 

Biography

Kenneth Cochran is a senior level healthcare executive with more than 20 years of healthcare experience including diversified experience in clinical department management.  He has extensive professional involvement in local, state and national level organizations, and has been recognized for exceptional skills in financial and operations management, regulatory compliance, clinical outcomes, and physician recruitment.  He has been branded as an “Up and Comer” by many colleagues.

Originally from the state of Alabama, Mr. Cochran is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and Board Certified in Healthcare Management.  He received his Bachelors of Science degree in Nursing from Troy State University in Troy, Alabama and received his Master’s in Business Administration from California State University in Bakersfield, California.  Mr. Cochran received his Doctoral degree of Science in Healthcare Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).   He also served as an orthopedic specialist and combat flight medic in the United States Army Reserves for 8 years. 

Mr. Cochran is currently serving as President/Chief Executive Officer of Opelousas General Health System since 2015.  Since joining Opelousas General, he has focused the organizational around evidenced based leadership tools and tactics that include organizational alignment, leadership accountability, and competency development.  Taking a systems approach is Mr. Cochran’s leadership style as he feels that all must learn to operate with fewer resources; a tactic that is a must for healthcare leaders.

Biography

Cristina is a results-driven leader with a proven record of successful contribution in the areas of strategic planning, hospital operations, ambulatory access, training, consulting and leading multi-disciplinary teams.  As Manager of Enterprise Improvement at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Cristina partners with the C-Suite to scope, plan, and execute projects associated with objectives from CHOP’s strategic and enterprise plans.  Cristina developed and manages CHOP’s Improvement Education Program designed to build quality improvement capability of staff and faculty.  Some of the initiatives that  Cristina is most proud of includes leading initiatives to implement electronic health record in inpatient and ambulatory settings; increased patient experience HCAHPS scores across the enterprise, improving patient access to specialty care, optimization of Perioperative processes resulting in increased first case on time start compliance, reduced OR turn-around time and increased OR utilization.

Prior to CHOP, Cristina spent xx years in management consulting where she advised healthcare, technology and financial organizations on quality/process improvement and strategic planning initiatives.  Before her career in consulting, Cristina worked for General Mortgage Acceptance Company (GMAC) and PHH Mortgage as an internal consultant focused on operations improvement and strategic planning.  Cristina holds an MBA from Capella University and she is a current doctoral candidate at Capella University.

When she is not at work, Cristina enjoys, international travel, event planning, interior design, and spending time with her husband and children.

Biography

Jim Crocker is a Manager of Process Improvement at Spectrum Health, a 26,000-employee integrated healthcare system with 12 hospitals, over 180 ambulatory sites, and an award-winning Health Plan. Spectrum Health has been recently named one of the nation’s top 15 health systems for sixth time. Jim’s primary focus has been developing a culture of improvement at Spectrum’s Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.

 Jim has over 25 years’ experience in quality and continuous improvement, with most of that experience as an employee at tier 1 automotive suppliers. Jim has spent the last 2.5 years at Spectrum Health.

Jim has a B.S. in Liberal Studies and is currently finishing his Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration.

Biography

Erin Zeringue is the President of A3 Healthcare, a performance improvement consulting company specializing in the healthcare industry. Erin is a General Electric certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and assists organizations in cultural transformation by training and coaching on principles of high reliability and change management. 

Erin has over 15 years of healthcare executive experience, including positions as Vice President of Quality, Patient Safety, and Performance Improvement, and roles in healthcare consulting, managed care, strategic planning and business development.  In the past 4 years, Erin has partnered with organizations across the country, including large health systems, university owned medical centers, state funded mental health clinics, physician practices, ambulatory surgery centers, and other numerous outpatient settings. She has certified hundreds of healthcare leaders and clinicians in LEAN, six sigma, and change acceleration. The A3 process focuses on Alignment, Acceptance, and Accountability as critical success factors on the journey to zero harm.

Erin is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, a Health Forum National Patient Safety Leadership Fellow, and a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality. She earned a Masters in Healthcare Administration and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

Biography

Mustafa Abdulali is the Director of Lean Transformation at NCH in Naples, FL.   Mustafa is focused on engineering a culture that embraces structured problem solving using tools and techniques from process improvement methodologies such as Lean and Six Sigma.  He previously worked as the Director of Performance Improvement at Main Line Health in Philadelphia, PA and had spent over a decade in the Automotive and Aerospace industries where he held a variety of positions.  

Mustafa has a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, an MBA from the University of Florida and is an American Society of Quality Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

Biography

Cody Schmits is the Director of Transformation and Process Integration at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.  He has more than seven years of experience in the healthcare industry serving as a consultant, advisor, and transformational leader. 

Cody is a proven leader with a history of success in driving change and has led the Children’s Hospital in improving operational performance by more than 25% during his tenure.  Cody’s areas of expertise include physician engagement & alignment, service line development, performance improvement, change management, and  strategic planning. 

Biography

Tracy West-Grubb, BS, BA, M.Ed., MSL, CSSBB currently serves as the Chief of Staff and Area Vice President for CareCentrix, where she is responsible for operational excellence and growth. Her background and experience includes serving in roles within quality & safety, risk management, accreditation, project management, organizational and leadership development, the innovation hub and operations. Tracy has held positions in the acute, residential and post-acute environment where she leads the transformation of organizations through innovative strategic planning, leadership development, program design, education and mentoring.  

Tracy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Madison University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations from Arkansas Tech University.  She also holds a Master of Science in Education Counseling from Madison University and a Master of Strategic Leadership from Stephens College.  She is a Six Sigma Black Belt and holds a number of certifications related to project management, quality and training. She is a frequent speaker at industry improvement conferences and routinely emcees a variety of programs within her community. Tracy won multiple industry awards for innovation and team collaboration during her time as an Improvement Advisor with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.

She enjoys an adventurous lifestyle traveling with her family and friends. In her spare time, she volunteers as a mentor for new medical school graduates, aids in homeless rehabilitation programs, and relishes in teaching Krav Maga at women’s self-defense seminars. She is a strong advocate for children, serving on the Boys and Girls Club of the Suncoast Board of Directors.  For the last two years, she has chaired their annual fundraising galas; Tracy continues to serve as their Executive Committee Vice-Chair and advisor to the Resource Development Committee.

Biography

Dr. Tom Muha is a psychologist with over 30 years of experience in delivering evidence-based coaching to individuals and teams who are seeking proven methods for achieving higher levels of personal wellbeing and professional performance.

Dr. Muha has been a keynote speaker and workshop presenter at some of the world’s top healthcare organizations, including the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the Magnet Recognition Program’s Pathways to Excellence, and HeathStream’s People in Healthcare Summit. 

Dr. Muha is the Director of The PROPEL Institute. He received his Doctoral degree in Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology.

Biography

Blan Godfrey is definitely not a healthcare professional, and he most decidedly is not a healthcare expert. He serves as a resident outsider to several healthcare organizations as someone who has spent almost all his life in manufacturing and quality improvement. His background is physics and statistics mainly with applications in electronics, telecommunications, and energy.

Blan’s involvement in health care began in 1987 when he co-founded with Dr. Donald M. Berwick the National Demonstration Project for Quality Improvement in Health Care.  He continued as co-principal investigator with Don and Dr. Paul Batalden for the three-year expansion of the project and then served on the Executive Board of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement's Quality Management Network for three more years. He served on the Board of Directors for IHI from 2006 to May of this year and was chair of the board from 2009 to 2012.  He served for four years on the Board of Trustees of the Cancer Hope Network and was a member of the National Advisory Committee for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s special program, Pursuing Perfection: Raising the Bar for Health Care Performance.  He serves on the Advisory Board of the North Carolina Patient Safety and Quality Council and on the board of the North Carolina Hospital Association. Since 2012 he has served on the board of WakeMed Health and Hospitals.

While Chairman and CEO of Juran, Blan worked with health care organizations in the United States, the U.K., Malaysia, The Netherlands, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Canada, Greece and other countries.  In the U.S. Blan worked closely with the Mayo Clinic, Kaiser-Permanente, and Bon Secours among other leading health care providers. Through the special extension programs in Lean Six Sigma Quality developed by the College of Textiles and the College of Engineering Industrial Extension Services, Blan has worked closely in providing quality training and support to a number of leading healthcare organizations including Duke University Hospital.

Biography

Namita Azad is the System Transformation Manager for the Montefiore Health and TransformationManager with the department of Performance Improvement & Analytics at the Montefiore Medical Group. She is responsible for the dissemination and sustenance of all quality programs and initiatives but specializes in managing this with infusing the clinical transformation with quality improvement science.  This unique approach has grown to be a mark of Montefiore’s quality improvement strategy and has been recognized throughout the Health system as the standard for transformation. 

Biography

Dr. Paula Antognoli is a Project Manager with the Performance and Process Improvement department at Universal Health Services, Inc. She is responsible for the Emergency Department Throughput and Inpatient Capacity Management improvement projects for UHS acute care division and helps guide the design of new UHS hospitals and facility expansion projects. Dr. Antognoli has over 30 years of experience in healthcare and acute care hospital operations. She is board certified in nursing administration and is a certified Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma. She earned a Ph.D. at Texas Woman’s University and is a graduate of the University of Akron, College of Nursing in Ohio.

Biography

Adam Johnson is the Corporate Director for the Center for Organizational Transformation at Baptist Health Care in Pensacola, Florida. He began his career with Baptist ten years ago as a Process Engineer and prior to that, worked for BearingPoint as a consultant supporting Naval Aviation Repair and Overhaul.  The transformation effort at Baptist Health Care led by Adam has resulted in establishment of a corporate A3 Training Program (recognized in Training Magazine), a Value Stream Management discipline, Daily Management processes in over 40 departments, tiered huddling, and Training Within Industry for Job Instructions. In addition, he continues to lead the effort to assess and expand transformation competencies for the organization while maintaining clarity and focus on overall process improvement framework, as well as alignment to system strategies. The A3 program has produced workflow improvements and improved retention among participants, showing a turnover rate at 1/5^th the norm for the general workforce. It has been a cultural journey that continues still, requiring an awareness for timing, an understanding for the organizational capacity to learn and celebrating the behaviors that engage the work force for process improvement.

Adam received a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Auburn University and an MBA at the University of Miami, where he was introduced to the study of quality and achieved his Six Sigma Black Belt. Outside of work, Adam enjoys spending time with his wife and four daughters, gardening, bicycling and fishing.

Biography

Katie is a leader in optimizing systems and processes across complex healthcare organizations. She works with multi-disciplinary teams on health system-wide improvement efforts focused on improving clinical quality and operational efficiency.   Katie is a Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt and utilizes these methodologies to drive change at Cedars-Sinai Health System.

Prior to joining Cedars-Sinai in 2011, Katie worked at Triage Consulting Group, a healthcare consulting firm based in San Francisco.  In her role, she led project teams at over 15 hospitals helping clients identify and recover lost revenue while providing recommendations to minimize future cash losses.

Katie has her Master’s in Health Administration from the University of Southern California and her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Biography

Scott Saxton is a Continuous Improvement Executive Director at Intermountain Healthcare and former Lean/External Consulting Director at Autoliv North America, a World Leader in life saving Automotive Safety Products.  He has been instrumental in the development and application of the Intermountain Operating System, a cultural improvement effort to engaged team members and leaders to drive results. Employees at Intermountain Healthcare have implemented over 23K ideas, 1900 came from Physicians, 19 Million in cost savings and over 2 thousand improvement projects in 2017.  He received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Admin. from University of Phoenix and had 6 months 1 on 1 Training and Development in Toyota Production System from Takashi Harada with Toyota Corporation at OMCD Division.

Biography

Dr. Rohit Hasija is an Attending Orthopedic Surgeon specializing in Orthopedic Trauma and Adult Reconstructive Surgery of the Hip and Knee. He is the Program Director for The Hip and Knee Center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst – the first center in the borough of Queens with Joint Commission Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement. Dr. Hasija is well known for creating pathways for process improvement. His areas of interest are both primary hip and knee replacement surgery and revisions of failed or painful joint replacements, but only after all conservative treatment options have failed to provide relief.

By individualizing plans for every patient to encourage a speedy recovery, Dr. Hasija has helped to restore mobility and improve quality of life for numerous individuals with hip and knee joints that no longer were functioning properly and were causing difficulty in day-to-day activities.  

Dr. Hasija is actively involved in orthopedic research and education and is conducting several research projects on some of the most advanced topics in trauma and joint reconstruction. In addition to teaching medical students and residents, he has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Hasija is also active in the community giving talks on hip and knee arthritis and common orthopedic disorders. Dr. Hasija has been honored and awarded for his outstanding leadership and significant contributions to the Queens Community.

Dr. Hasija earned his medical degree from Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi, India.  He completed his orthopedic residency at Safdarjang Hospital in New Delhi.  He continued his training in United States and completed fellowship training at The New York Orthopedic Hospital - Columbia University Medical Center in New York, NY and at Mount Sinai Services - Elmhurst Hospital Center in Elmhurst, NY. 

He is completing an MBA/MS in Healthcare Leadership at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Science.

Biography

Michelle joined the LHA Education & Research Foundation in February 2012 and serves as the Project Director for the Hospital Improvement Innovation Network (HIIN). In her role, she manages the day-to-day program activities for the HIIN. Her role includes planning, developing, coordinating and implementing initiatives for the successful implementation of the program. Prior to joining the Foundation, Michelle obtained over 25 years of health care experience. She worked as the Program Manager for the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum’s Quality Measurement and Clinical Quality Improvement Committees. Prior to the Quality Forum, she spent 19 years as a Support Analyst with the Medicare Part B Carrier, working directly with the Carrier Medical Directors and Medical Review Department to develop and implement local medical coverage decisions and federal medical necessity guidelines. Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix in Baton Rouge. She is a GE Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. Professional certifications include both the Managed Healthcare Professional Designation and Healthcare Customer Service Associate Designation from America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).

Biography

Dr. David Grazman joined the Center for Transforming Healthcare leadership team in 2016 to oversee business development of the Center’s High Reliability offerings including Robust Process Improvement® (RPI) training for health care organizations and providers, focused on creating sustainable solutions to some of health care’s most critical quality and safety problems. His expertise will help advance the Center’s initiatives to help the nation’s leading hospitals and health systems build and strengthen their systems and structures to transform into high reliability organizations, providing health care that is consistently excellent and safe. In addition to holding previous roles within Joint Commission Resources and Joint Commission International, Dr. Grazman has also held a variety of leadership and consulting positions with internationally-known healthcare organizations, such as Tele Tracking Technologies and The Advisory Board Company, where he was responsible for the sales, delivery and management of strategic and clinical operational consulting engagements for hospital and health system clients. In addition, he is the former executive director of Heartland Health Outreach, Inc., a Federally Qualified Health Center that delivers medical, dental, mental health and substance abuse services to Chicago’s homeless population. Dr. Grazman received his doctorate in business administration from the University of Minnesota, a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Missouri. He is currently certified as a Yellow Belt. He can be reached at dgrazman@jointcommission.org.

Biography

Julie has been a RN for 28 years. Her experience includes emergency, maternal-fetal, and neuroscience nursing. She is currently serving as patient care director for Neuroscience at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Julie is a proven leader who motivates team members and inspires commitment to organizational mission, vision, and values. She builds effective teams through authentic leadership and drives results through collaboration, communication, and setting clear expectations.

Julie and her team have been on the lean journey for the past several years and have enjoyed the benefit of positive process change through use of lean methodology. Her areas of responsibility have received several awards and accolades for top decile patient experience scores, high employee engagement, and improved patient safety and quality. Through collaboration with interdisciplinary team members and use of lean methodology, neuroscience patients presenting for stroke care at Barnes Jewish Hospital benefit from the shortest door to needle time in the nation.

Julie received her Bachelors in Nursing from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, IL.  She then went on to obtain a Masters of Healthcare Administration from Webster University-St. Louis, Mo. She is certified in Executive Nursing Practice and a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives. Outside of work, Julie enjoys spending time with her family. She is an avid camper and enjoys motorcycling across the open road with her husband.

Biography

Sr. Performance Improvement Engineer – Barnes Jewish Hospital

Ray Brand is the Sr. Performance Improvement Engineer at Barnes-Jewish Hospital aligned to its NeuroSciences service line along with various strategic initiatives of the BJC Health System.  Maturing BJC’s development and implementation of its Operating System and creating an execution culture are the primary objectives for his current statement of work at BJC.  Ray specializes in various methods of creating emotional attachment (Humble Inquiry, Unleashing Talent, 10x, etc) for front line staff and leaders in order to drive step function change in KPI Performance.

In addition to his current responsibilities, Ray is leading a performance improvement collaborative, THE IMPETUS GROUP, on the BJC Academic Medical Campus which aligns PI efforts across St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.  This grassroots approach to strengthening PI skillsets is intended to increase the adoption of change rate across the entire medical center.

Prior to joining the BJC Health System, Ray spent 11 years in the Aerospace manufacturing sector as a lean facilitator/enterprise process integrator.  He earned his B.S in Accountancy from Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville and an M.B.A. from Webster University – St. Louis.    

Biography

Hal Williams, Operational Vice President of Finance for Central Florida, joined Nemours in 1996. As a graduate from the University of North Florida, Hal has a background in Accounting, Cost Decision, Budgeting, and Operations. Hal has led an enterprise-wide effort to improve revenue cycle processes and patient satisfaction since 2015. Serving as one of the Executive Sponsors and on Management Guidance Team, Hal & other leaders steer and support a group of revenue cycle & operational leaders through their improvement projects. Through his coaching, commitment to this work, and ongoing development of his teams, Hal has been a driver of culture change and continuous improvement within the organization.

Biography

Dr. Flip Roberts is the vice president of clinical affairs. In this position, Dr. Roberts provides strategic leadership on clinical and professional matters impacting the Association and its member hospitals in all areas pertaining to physician/hospital integration, clinical affairs, quality improvement and patient safety.

Dr. Roberts previously served as the chief medical officer of Baton Rouge General Medical Center (BRGMC). He was responsible for developing the Tulane University School of Medicine satellite campus in Baton Rouge and served as the first regional dean. Dr. Roberts also served as medical director of graduate medical education at BRGMC, as well as the initial program director of the Baton Rouge General/Tulane Internal Medicine Residency Program.

He has earned numerous awards and honors, including the AHA/HRET Fellowship in Patient Safety Leadership; the “Resident’s Choice” award in 2000, which is awarded by graduating family medicine residents for outstanding support, teaching and role modeling; and the Physicians’ Recognition Award from the American Medical Association. He is a graduate of LSU and received his medical degree from the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. He completed an internship, a residency and a fellowship in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine at the Department of Medicine of the University of Alabama. Dr. Roberts is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, with special qualifications in critical care medicine and pulmonary diseases. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians; a member of the American Thoracic Society; a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians; a member of the Louisiana State Medical Society; and a member of the American College of Physician Executives.

Biography

Mr. Tamplen has over 20 years in healthcare as a clinician and operations executive. For the last five years, he has focused on operational excellence, continuous process improvement, and mindfulness-based leadership.   He is the Director of Quality Built-In (lean healthcare) for University of California San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospitals and has spent the last three years co-leading the lean transformation initiative across UCSF Health with a specific focus on establishing True North, deploying lean daily management, A3-Thinking, process improvement, and leadership coaching.  He possesses a combination of proven scientific problem solving methods to improve operations while developing  people, which creates impactful and sustainable improvements in all areas of healthcare operations.  

Jesse has presented nationally on operational excellence and continuous process improvement. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Master’s Degree in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley, and holds a Master’s Degree in Health Administration from the University of Southern California. He is Board Certified in Healthcare Management through the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a past Member of the Board of Directors for California Association of Healthcare Leaders. In 2015 he was awarded the American College of Healthcare Executives California’s Regents Early Careerist Award. Mr. Tamplen most recently published an article in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery in Aug. 2017, titled Comparison of Output Volume Threshold for Drain Removal after Selective Lateral Neck Dissection. Jesse is passionate about improving patient quality and safety through developing people to provide the best possible care for patients and families. He loves integrating active daily management and frontline problem solving into operations.   

Biography

Bill Owad, senior vice president of Operational Excellence specializes in the strategies and tools that support the pursuit of a lean enterprise. Working with a team of nearly 150 Operational Excellence staff members and coaches aross Cardinal Health, Owad is responsible for developing and implementing an enterprise approach to Operational Excellence at Cardinal Health, ultimately improving the value delivered to the company’s customers.

In addition to his role as senior vice president, Owad also supports the extension of Operational Excellence external to Cardinal Health as the executive sponsor for the company’s relationships with the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) Partner Program, the Healthcare Value Network, The Ohio State University Fisher College Center for Operational Excellence and the Conference Board Quality Council. During his tenure, Owad has held several positions within Operational Excellence and has served as the primary architect of the company’s enterprise-wide deployment of Operational Excellence, which, over eight years, yielded significant improvements in customer loyalty, employee engagement, operational performance and working capital utilization.

Prior to joining Cardinal Health, Owad held several operations and administrative roles that have used the tools of Lean Six Sigma to transform health care provider organizations, supply chain and medical supply companies. These roles include corporate director of quality for ProMedica Health System, executive director for Cordelia Martin Health Center and several adjunct faculty positions with the College of Pharmacy at the University of Toledo and other nationally recognized programs.

Owad is also active in the community, serving in the past as board chair for the Central Ohio American Red Cross BioMedical Services, board chair for Cordelia Martin Health Center, senior examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program, and examiner / team leader for the Ohio Award for Excellence. Currently, Owad serves as a board member for the Partnership for Excellence, Mid-Ohio Foodbank, and the ASHP Research and Education Foundation.

Owad received his bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and his Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Toledo. His post-graduate work includes the achievement of Fellow status with the American College of Healthcare Executives, multiple Lean Six Sigma certifications and continued development as a Lean leader through his work with Cardinal Health and LEI. Owad has also authored several publications and presentations on quality systems and customer loyalty. 

Biography

Biography

Steve Stenberg is the Senior Director of Process Improvement at Spectrum Health, a 26,000-employee integrated healthcare system with 12 hospitals and over 180 ambulatory sites as well as an award winning Health Plan. Spectrum Health has been recently named one of the nation’s top 15 health systems for the sixth time. Steve works with all facets of the health care system, from the insurance side, revenue cycle, hospital and ambulatory operations. Major projects Steve and his team are working on are the transition to one EMR system as well as optimizing revenue cycle operations and the strategy deployment. Steve is also actively working on integrating the various improvement methodologies within the health system.

 Steve has over 30 years’ experience in leadership and continuous improvement. He has studied and implemented lean systems in many different industries. Steve has spent the last 4 years at Spectrum Health.

Steve started his career in the automotive industry working for 17 years at Donnelly Corporation where he held many different positions such as General Manager, Plant Manager, Manufacturing Manager, Advanced Quality Engineer as well as Shop Floor Supervisor. Steve has also spent 10 years as an Independent Lean Consultant for healthcare and manufacturing companies. Some notable clients are ITT, Honeywell, Dublin Aerospace, Faurecia, Johnson & Johnson, Florida hospital, Carolinas Healthcare and Trinity Health to name a few. He has completed 3P events and projects in Mexico, China, Japan, Ireland, Canada, Czech Republic and the United states. Steve is deeply trained in the Toyota Production System and Shingo Principles, and is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Champion, and contributing author to Shingo Award Winning book, Leveraging Lean in Healthcare, and co-author of Lean Practitioner’s Field Book. He holds an Industrial Engineering degree.

Biography

With nearly 30 years of experience in performance improvement and personal transformational technologies, Geoffrey P. Gamble lends his expertise to individuals and organizations who seek to create new possibilities and outcomes for themselves and those they influence.  Using a unique mix of ontological and experiential learning techniques, Lean PI methodologies, and personalized life coaching, Geoffrey’s work provides new perspectives on nearly any interest or commitment, beginning with a simple question:  "Are you happy" with the way things are right now?

Geoffrey currently supports the work of transforming healthcare in the United States at Kaiser Permanente, initially as an Employee/Labor Relations Consultant in 2008, then Senior HR Consultant in 2010, and now – since 2012 – as Senior Consultant for Performance Improvement, Unit-Based Team Development, Employee Engagement, and Culture Change.  Since 2013, he has developed and lead Kaiser Permanente’s summer youth internship program in California’s Central Valley, training high-school-aged students and their company counterparts to implement innovative performance improvement projects that transform leadership engagement and care delivery though younger eyes and a fresh, new perspective in making a difference.

In his work, Geoffrey has consulted and engaged with several the leaders of US labor unions, including Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), and the California Nurses Association (CNA).   He’s also cut his teeth through work with the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (FMCS).

Geoffrey holds an honors degree in Communications Studies (Film, Video, and Popular Culture) with a minor in Sociology from Virginia Tech, studied Cinema in graduate school at San Francisco State University, and trained under transformational thinkers such as Werner Erhard, Steve Zaffron, Dave Logan, Randy McNamara, and others through Werner Erhard & Associates, Landmark Education, and Landmark Worldwide.

His unique perspective incorporates a sense of realism, determination, and humor that can cut through the barriers experienced in life to provide a sense of purpose and concrete action to face whatever's next for people and their families, communities, and organizations. 

Comic novelist ("Breakfast with a Cereal Killer"), sociopolitical activist, classic Volkswagen enthusiast, and sometimes smartass, Geoffrey lives in Tracy, California, with his husband Kevin Metzger, their three dogs, and an African Grey parrot.  His approach is often seen as just what’s needed need to help uncover and explore potential solutions hiding in the periphery of what you don't know that you don't know.  Come play.

Biography

Kenneth Cochran is a senior level healthcare executive with more than 20 years of healthcare experience including diversified experience in clinical department management.  He has extensive professional involvement in local, state and national level organizations, and has been recognized for exceptional skills in financial and operations management, regulatory compliance, clinical outcomes, and physician recruitment.  He has been branded as an “Up and Comer” by many colleagues.

Originally from the state of Alabama, Mr. Cochran is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and Board Certified in Healthcare Management.  He received his Bachelors of Science degree in Nursing from Troy State University in Troy, Alabama and received his Master’s in Business Administration from California State University in Bakersfield, California.  Mr. Cochran received his Doctoral degree of Science in Healthcare Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).   He also served as an orthopedic specialist and combat flight medic in the United States Army Reserves for 8 years. 

Mr. Cochran is currently serving as President/Chief Executive Officer of Opelousas General Health System since 2015.  Since joining Opelousas General, he has focused the organizational around evidenced based leadership tools and tactics that include organizational alignment, leadership accountability, and competency development.  Taking a systems approach is Mr. Cochran’s leadership style as he feels that all must learn to operate with fewer resources; a tactic that is a must for healthcare leaders.

Biography

Erin Zeringue is the President of A3 Healthcare, a performance improvement consulting company specializing in the healthcare industry. Erin is a General Electric certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and assists organizations in cultural transformation by training and coaching on principles of high reliability and change management. 

Erin has over 15 years of healthcare executive experience, including positions as Vice President of Quality, Patient Safety, and Performance Improvement, and roles in healthcare consulting, managed care, strategic planning and business development.  In the past 4 years, Erin has partnered with organizations across the country, including large health systems, university owned medical centers, state funded mental health clinics, physician practices, ambulatory surgery centers, and other numerous outpatient settings. She has certified hundreds of healthcare leaders and clinicians in LEAN, six sigma, and change acceleration. The A3 process focuses on Alignment, Acceptance, and Accountability as critical success factors on the journey to zero harm.

Erin is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, a Health Forum National Patient Safety Leadership Fellow, and a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality. She earned a Masters in Healthcare Administration and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

Biography

Biography

Biography

Tracy West-Grubb, BS, BA, M.Ed., MSL, CSSBB currently serves as the Chief of Staff and Area Vice President for CareCentrix, where she is responsible for operational excellence and growth. Her background and experience includes serving in roles within quality & safety, risk management, accreditation, project management, organizational and leadership development, the innovation hub and operations. Tracy has held positions in the acute, residential and post-acute environment where she leads the transformation of organizations through innovative strategic planning, leadership development, program design, education and mentoring.  

Tracy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Madison University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations from Arkansas Tech University.  She also holds a Master of Science in Education Counseling from Madison University and a Master of Strategic Leadership from Stephens College.  She is a Six Sigma Black Belt and holds a number of certifications related to project management, quality and training. She is a frequent speaker at industry improvement conferences and routinely emcees a variety of programs within her community. Tracy won multiple industry awards for innovation and team collaboration during her time as an Improvement Advisor with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.

She enjoys an adventurous lifestyle traveling with her family and friends. In her spare time, she volunteers as a mentor for new medical school graduates, aids in homeless rehabilitation programs, and relishes in teaching Krav Maga at women’s self-defense seminars. She is a strong advocate for children, serving on the Boys and Girls Club of the Suncoast Board of Directors.  For the last two years, she has chaired their annual fundraising galas; Tracy continues to serve as their Executive Committee Vice-Chair and advisor to the Resource Development Committee.

Biography

Blan Godfrey is definitely not a healthcare professional, and he most decidedly is not a healthcare expert. He serves as a resident outsider to several healthcare organizations as someone who has spent almost all his life in manufacturing and quality improvement. His background is physics and statistics mainly with applications in electronics, telecommunications, and energy.

Blan’s involvement in health care began in 1987 when he co-founded with Dr. Donald M. Berwick the National Demonstration Project for Quality Improvement in Health Care.  He continued as co-principal investigator with Don and Dr. Paul Batalden for the three-year expansion of the project and then served on the Executive Board of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement's Quality Management Network for three more years. He served on the Board of Directors for IHI from 2006 to May of this year and was chair of the board from 2009 to 2012.  He served for four years on the Board of Trustees of the Cancer Hope Network and was a member of the National Advisory Committee for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s special program, Pursuing Perfection: Raising the Bar for Health Care Performance.  He serves on the Advisory Board of the North Carolina Patient Safety and Quality Council and on the board of the North Carolina Hospital Association. Since 2012 he has served on the board of WakeMed Health and Hospitals.

While Chairman and CEO of Juran, Blan worked with health care organizations in the United States, the U.K., Malaysia, The Netherlands, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Canada, Greece and other countries.  In the U.S. Blan worked closely with the Mayo Clinic, Kaiser-Permanente, and Bon Secours among other leading health care providers. Through the special extension programs in Lean Six Sigma Quality developed by the College of Textiles and the College of Engineering Industrial Extension Services, Blan has worked closely in providing quality training and support to a number of leading healthcare organizations including Duke University Hospital.

Biography