The Quality Center
About Us
About Us
The North Carolina Hospital Association (NCHA) created the North Carolina Center for Hospital Quality and Patient Safety (NC Quality Center) in 2004 to lead NC hospitals to become the safest and highest quality hospitals in the United States. The NC Quality Center is funded by a five-year grant from the Duke Endowment and a donation from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.
Our strategic goals focus on promoting a fair and just patient safety culture, optimization of teamwork and communication among healthcare professionals, ensuring evidence based care processes through reliable system design and gaining knowledge through organizational learning.
Since it's inception the NC Quality Center has engaged and supported almost every hospital in the state. In addition it is seen as a leader in the nation with invitations to national presentations and participation in national demonstration projects. To lead the NC Hospitals on their journey to improve quality and patient safety the NC Quality Center provides educational, collaborative and performance measurement programs and services.
Mission, Vision and Values
Mission
The center exists to foster a culture of quality and safety within North Carolina hospitals and healthcare systems.
Vision
The Center will lead North Carolina hospitals and healthcare systems to become the safest and highest quality hospitals and healthcare systems in the United States.
Values
Leadership
- We will be a national leader in healthcare quality improvement and patient safety.
- We will set direction and raise performance expectations for North Carolina hospitals and healthcare systems.
- We will be the primary source of information and resources for hospitals and healthcare systems regarding quality improvement and patient safety issues.
Integrity
- We value the patient as the foundation for all quality improvement.
- We will maintain the trust of the public, our partners and the hospitals and healthcare systems.
- We will honor the individual choice of each hospital and healthcare system to participate in the Center's activities.
- We will ensure peer-review information remains confidential.
Innovation
- We will seek out and introduce new and creative ideas to promote quality improvement.
- We will spread new ideas for change across the state and support hospitals and healthcare systems to turn that knowledge into results.
Collaboration
- We will bring together hospitals, healthcare systems and partner organizations that share a commitment to make changes to produce better outcomes for patients and lower health care costs.
- We will learn from each other and share our successes and failures.
- We see the journey to excellence as a partnership with those to whom we provide services.
- We will maximize the use of public and private resources.
Transparency
- We will promote the open sharing of hospital performance outcomes for the purpose of improvement.
- We respect a patient safety culture that fosters reporting accountability and learning.
Good Science
- We will utilize evidence-based and best-demonstrated practice in our initiatives.
- We will measure and monitor outcomes for improvement.
Positive Focus
- We will champion hospitals and healthcare systems that are demonstrated leaders and innovators in quality.
- We will focus resources on hospitals and healthcare systems that desire to be leaders in quality improvement.
- We will support all hospitals and healthcare systems in developing quality improvement as a core business strategy.
Strategic Plan
Board
Board of Trustees
Paul Wiles, Chair |
Roger A. Ray, MD, MBA, FACPE |
Staff
Staff
Carol Koeble, MD, MS, CPE
Director, NC Center for Hospital Quality and Patient Safety
919-677-4211
ckoeble@ncha.org
Dr. Koeble completed her medical education at The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, School of Medicine, and her OB/GYN Residency at David Grant US Air Force Medical Center and a Master of Science in Preventive Medicine and Administrative Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. She severed in the US Air Force and was stationed at bases in Washington DC, California and Alaska. Prior to retirement she was the director of the OB/GYN clinic at Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage, AK. After retirement Dr. Koeble joined the staff at the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) in Anchorage, Alaska, a Native-owned, non-profit organization that provides healthcare services to Alaskan Natives and Native Americans. She currently practices Obstetrics part time with Wake Faculty Physicians at Wake Med Raleigh.
At ANMC Dr. Koeble was the medical director for The Southcentral Foundation, a co-owners of the medical center. She worked with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (Boston) and with Intermountain Health Care (Salt Lake City) to develop quality improvement models that could be utilized at ANMC. In September 2005, Dr. Koeble joined NCHA as the Director of the newly established North Carolina Center for Hospital Quality and Patient Safety. She has established the Center as a quality and patient safety resource for NC healthcare organizations through education, collaboration, consultation and clinical measurement services.
Joanne Campione, PhD, MSPH
Director, Clinical Measurement Services
919-677-4133
jcampione@ncha.org
Dr. Joanne Campione joined the North Carolina Center for Hospital Quality and Patient Safety in March 2006. She is responsible for the NC Hospital Quality Performance Report and the analysis of hospital clinical measures associated with national and statewide quality improvement initiatives. In December 2005, Joanne received her PhD in health services research from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. She has been a research fellow with UNC's Institute on Aging and the Durham VA Medical Center. Prior to NCHA and her doctoral studies, Joanne managed a department at LabCorp that assisted managed care companies with physician-level quality measures and disease management. Previous work experience includes six years with Blue Cross and Blue Shield North Carolina as a QI project manager and a health industry analyst and two years with CMS' Office of Legislation and Policy in Washington, D.C. Joanne received her MSPH from UNC-Chapel Hill and a B.A. in Health Policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Barbara S. Edson, RN, MBA, MHA
Director of Collaborative Learning
919-677-4121
bedson@ncha.org
Ms. Edson, received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI and her Master of Business Administration/Master of Health Administration from Pfeiffer University in Charlotte, NC. She is a native of the Boston area, has over twenty years experience in nursing and management, specializing in Pediatrics/Neonatal nursing. In her position as the Director of Collaborative Learning North Carolina Center for Hospital Quality and Patient Safety, Ms. Edson is responsible for assisting hospitals in improving quality and patient safety. Working with the Quality Center team she has developed and lead collaborative initiatives in Medication Reconciliation, Preventing Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Teamwork and Communication, Just Culture, Surgical Care Improvement, Heart Failure, Preventing Central Line Blood Stream Infections, and Preventing Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections. The Medication Reconciliation Tool Kit, she was instrumental in developing, has been listed as a resource on the IHI website and is a source document on the Department of Defense Patient Safety website. In her position as Director of Patient Safety, IHI Open School, Ms. Edson works with expert national faculty in the development of the Patient Safety curriculum. Additionally, Ms. Edson serves on the Advisory Committee for the Open School. Ms. Edson is a certified examiner for the North Carolina Awards for Excellence (NCAfE), the statewide Baldrige program.
Nancy Schanz, RN, MA, MHA, MBA
Assistant Director, NC Quality Center PSO
919-677-4105
nschanz@ncha.org
Nancy is a QI Analyst with the North Carolina Center for Hospital Quality and Patient Safety. She joined the Quality Center in July 2008. Nancy was previously the Administrator for a homecare joint venture of UNC Hospitals and WakeMed Health & Hospitals and held various hospital administrative positions. She has experience in working with quality improvement initiatives in hospitals and with Ernest and Young as a nursing consultant in multiple states. Nancy received her Bachelors Degree in Nursing from the University of Illinois, a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership, a Master in Business Administration and a Master in Healthcare Administration.
Shelby Lassiter, RN, BSN, CPHQ, CIC
Performance Improvement Specialist
919-677-4119
slassiter@ncha.org
Shelby holds an Associate Degree in Nursing from Wake Technical College and a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from East Carolina University. She is certified in Infection Control (CIC) and is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) through the National Association of Healthcare Quality (NAHQ). She has over thirty years of experience in nursing: medical/surgical nursing, critical care, healthcare quality, and infection prevention. Shelby came to the Quality Center from the Covidien corporation where she worked as an Infection Preventionist supporting customers along the east coast in their infection prevention efforts. Prior to that, she was at WakeMed in the Infection Prevention and Quality departments. Her role at the NC Quality Center is to support healthcare organizations participating in NC SHIM and infection prevention collaboratives.
Latoshua LeGrant, ASQ, CQIA
Project Manager
919-677-4134
llegrant@ncha.org
Latoshua is a Project Manager with the North Carolina Center for Hospital Quality and Patient Safety. She joined the Quality Center in March 2007, with project and quality management experience from the IT and Banking industries. Latoshua graduated Summa Cum Laude and received her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science/Engineering from Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, NC. She also has a Master's Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University and is a Certified Quality Improvement Associate through the American Society for Quality.
Dean Higgins, BA
Project Manager
919-677-4212
dhiggins@ncha.org
Dean joined the North Carolina Center for Hospital Quality and Patient Safety in early 2008 as a Project Manager. He has over ten years of experience working across diverse healthcare settings to improve quality, increase access to care, and to promote healthcare advocacy and education. Having developed new programs for community mental health organizations and while serving as a hospice volunteer coordinator, Dean has significant experience in project management and program development. He also brings marketing expertise from his most recent experience as a healthcare marketer for a community based hospice organization. Dean received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Berea College in Berea, KY.
Laura Ammons, BA
Systems Analyst
919-677-4146
lammons@ncha.org
Laura serves the Quality Center as Systems Analyst. She develops and maintains web sites, databases and other information systems as well as assessing new uses of media and technology. Laura has a B.A. in communication studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has worked with NCHA since 1999.
Nanci Kingsbury
Administrative Assistant
919-677-4135
nkingsbury@ncha.org
Nanci is the administrative assistant for the Center for Hospital Quality and Patient Safety. Prior to joining the Quality Center team, she worked for California State University, Dominguez Hills in the College of Health and Human Services and School of Nursing as an administrative analyst/specialist for over 20 years.