OAK BROOK, Ill., Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) announced that Julie Cerese, RN, MSN, has been appointed Vice President, Quality and Patient Safety. Cerese returned to UHC after spending a year and a half as director of quality and infection control at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Ill. Previously, she was the senior director of UHC's Clinical Process Improvement area.
"Julie's experience at Northwestern has refreshed her already substantial knowledge of day-to-day quality improvement in the teaching hospital setting. That experience will help UHC design programs that support quality improvement and demonstrate members' leadership in quality," said Mark Keroack, MD, MPH, Vice President and Director of UHC's Clinical Practice Advancement Center.
In her new role, Cerese will direct:
-- UHC's Quality and Safety Fall Forum, an annual meeting for executive
leaders, and quality professionals from academic medical centers
-- UHC's Quality and Accountability study, which determines which
organizations receive the UHC Quality Leadership Award
-- Clinical benchmarking and improvement projects
-- Hospital accreditation preparedness and compliance
-- UHC's Patient Safety Net(R), an online tool for patient safety event
reporting now listed as a Patient Safety Organization by the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality
As a UHC senior director, Cerese pioneered the Commit to ACTion model, a highly structured rapid-cycle collaborative that helps academic medical centers significantly improve clinical processes.
Cerese received a bachelor of science in nursing and master of science in nursing from the Loyola University Chicago Niehoff School of Nursing, where she is pursuing a doctoral degree. She has also authored many journal articles on quality, performance improvement, and other clinical topics.
About UHC:
Formed in 1984, UHC is an alliance of 103 academic medical centers and 191 of their affiliated hospitals, representing approximately 90% of the nation's nonprofit academic medical centers. UHC provides specific programs and services to help members improve clinical, operational, financial, and supply chain performance. Offering members the UHC Patient Safety Net(R) event-reporting tool, UHC is among the first 10 organizations designated as Patient Safety Organizations by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Visit "About UHC" at http://www.uhc.edu for more information.
SOURCE University HealthSystem Consortium
For further information: Linda Bosy of University HealthSystem Consortium, +1-630-954-2808, cell, +1-312-301-6328, bosy@uhc.edu
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