National Advisory Council

Evan M. Benjamin, MD, FACP

Professor of Medicine
Tuffs University School of Medicine and Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences
Senior Vice President, Quality and Population Health and Chief Quality Officer
Baystate Health, Inc. - Springfield, MA

Evan M. Benjamin, MD, FACP is Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences as well as Senior Vice President for Quality and Population Health and Chief Quality Officer, Baystate Health in Springfield, Massachusetts. A board certified internist, Dr. Benjamin founded the Division of Healthcare Quality at Baystate in 2000 and helped to create the Center for Quality of Care Research in 2006. He is nationally recognized for his work in outcomes management and quality improvement and his publications have appeared in more than 40 articles in major journals. His research in measuring quality, patient safety and health policy has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine and Journal of the American Medical Association.

Currently, he is on the editorial board for the American Journal of Medical Quality, and is an active reviewer for JAMA. Dr. Benjamin sits on a number of national and regional boards and committees including the Board of Directors of Catholic Health Partners, where he chairs the Board Quality Committee, the Premier, Inc. Board Quality Committee where he chairs the Strategic Clinical Advisory Committee. He is an active faculty member for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, MA and a member of the Family & Patient Committee of the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF).

Dr. Benjamin received his BA in chemistry with highest honors from Williams College, Williamstown, MA; his MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, OH; post-graduate education in Internal Medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, Yale University School of Medicine and training in epidemiology with the US Public Health Service.

Contact Information:
E: [email protected]

Niki Carver, PharmD

Assistant Director for Medication Safety
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences  - Little Rock, AR

In her role as Assistant Director for Medication Safety, Dr. Carver participates in many hospital and campus committees pertaining to medication safety and performance improvement. Her oversight includes evaluating and implementing systems, processes and automation to improve the medication use process.  She also manages regulatory activities for the Department of Pharmacy in both the inpatient and outpatient areas; acts as the Secretary of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee; chairs the Medication Safety Subcommittee; maintains quality assurance activities for the department and departmental policies and procedures; ensures and maintains competencies of the pharmacy staff; and serves as preceptor for the Department of Pharmacy’s residency program, as well as students for the UAMS College of Pharmacy.

She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy and later completed a Pharmacy Practice residency and Pharmacy Practice Management Specialty residency in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with Aurora Health Care. Niki is also Pharmacist in Charge at Shepherd’s Hope Neighborhood Health Center in Little Rock, AR where she and her colleagues provide affordable health care services to uninsured neighborhood residents.  She is currently a member of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), the Arkansas Pharmacists Association (APA) and the Arkansas Association of Health-System Pharmacists (AAHP) where she currently serves on the Board of AAHP as Board Member At-Large. 

Contact Information:
E: [email protected]

Kathleen Ciccone, RN, MBA

Executive Director
Hospital Association of New York State (HANYS) Quality Institute - Rennselear, NY
Co-Director
New York State Partnership for Patients 

As the Executive Director for the Hospital Association of New York State’s Quality Institute, Kathleen directs and coordinates all association membership activities related to quality oversight, performance improvement and research initiatives.  She is responsible for advocacy and representation for legislative, regulatory and accreditation initiatives; development and oversight of research projects; oversight of comparative data projects; and division management.  Kathleen is HANYS’ key liaison for quality activities with external organizations at national and state levels. 

As Co-Director of the New York State Partnership for Patients, Kathleen oversees education and consultation programs with hospitals throughout the state to achieve national Partnership for Patients goals of reducing hospital-acquired complications by 40% and preventable readmissions by 20%.  She is a frequent lecturer and author of several publications.  She is a registered nurse with a Master’s Degree in Business Management and expects to be awarded her Doctor of Public Health Degree in 2014 from State University at Albany.

Contact Information:
E: [email protected]

Michelle Crumby, CPHQ

Interim Manager, Clinical Quality, Patient Safety, and Infection Prevention
Boone Hospital Center – Columbia, MO

Michelle Crumby is a coordinator for Clinical Quality and Patient Safety at Boone Hospital Center, a 350-bed, Magnet-recognized community hospital. Michelle’s clinical quality experience includes clinical core measures, infection prevention (working with infection prevention practitioners to help reduce catheter utilization and catheter associated urinary tract infections), fall prevention and prevention of hypoglycemia. She is the chair of the Diabetes Action Committee and former chair of the Patient Safety Council at Boone Hospital Center. She also works with the Cardiovascular Surgery quality improvement team to promote quality and safety in adult cardiac surgery.

Michelle is an active member of the Nurse Research and Evidence-Based Practice Council, EBP Mentor and research nurse. Current and former studies have included fall risk assessment and prediction of falling in neurology unit, staffing indicators at the time of falls and patient satisfaction and discharge telephone calls. She earned her BSN from Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa and an MSN from the University of Phoenix. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Health Administration also from the University of Phoenix.

Contact Information:
E: [email protected]

Jason Hickok, RN, MBA

Clinical Services Group Assistant Vice President
HCA – Nashville, TN

Jason Hickok, RN, MBA, is Assistant Vice President of Critical Care, Infection Prevention and Lab for HCA’S Clinical Services Group. Jason joined HCA in 2003 and chairs HCA’s Critical Care and Infection Prevention Advisory Committees, using their clinical knowledge and expertise to guide his work. In this role, Jason provides direct oversight for development and deployment of HCA’s MRSA initiative which, to date, has reduced Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections by more than 50% since it's implementation.

In addition to his infection prevention efforts, Jason has also been instrumental in facilitating development and deployment of tools and best practices to assist HCA facilities with prevention of specific harm events associated with hospitalization through application of evidence based interventions. Jason’s clinical experience includes emergency department, critical care and case management. He is a member of APIC (Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology), NAHQ (National Association for Healthcare Quality), NPSF (National Patient Safety Foundation), where he is a Graduate Fellow of the NPSF Leadership Program. He received both his BSN and MBA from Tennessee Technological University.

Contact Information:
E: [email protected]

Frank Khan

Patient Safety Officer
Tenet Healthcare/Doctors Medical Center – Modesto, CA

Frank has over 14 years of health care experience that includes research in psychiatry, clinical neuropsychology, patient satisfaction and quality improvement.  Frank’s work has helped improve patient safety across various measures, and he has been acknowledged nationally for his contributions.

Frank is currently an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), the California Association of Healthcare Leaders (CAHL) and serves as a liaison and speaker for the Higher Education Network. He also serves as a hospital presenter and faculty panelist for the American Hospital Association/Health Research & Education Trust’s (AHA/HRET) Hospital Engagement Network’s Improvement Leader Fellowship. Frank received his BA in psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz and his MBA from the University of San Francisco.

Contact Information:
E: [email protected]

David Mayer, MD

Vice President, Quality and Safety
MedStar Health – Columbia, MD

As the vice president of Quality and Safety for MedStar Health, David is responsible for overseeing the infrastructure for clinical quality and its operational efficiency for each of the health system's entities.  He also designs and directs system-wide activity for patient safety and risk reduction programs. Over the course of 10 years he held numerous roles at the University of Illinois Medical Center, including co-executive director of UIC Institute for Patient Safety Excellence, director of UIC Masters of Science Patient Safety Leadership Program, associate dean for education and associate chief medical officer for Quality and Safety Graduate Medical Education. Additionally, he has significant experience in the private sector as director of Medical Affairs of the Hospital Products Division at Abbott Laboratories.

He regularly presents and writes on topics related to quality and patient safety and recently was presented with the 2013 Founders’ Award from the American College od Medical Quality for his outstanding contributions to quality management and improvement. Dr. Mayer attended the University of Illinois at Chicago for both his undergraduate and medical degrees. He completed his internship and residency at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago, IL, followed by a fellowship in cardiac anesthesia.

Contact Information:
E: [email protected]

Deneen M. Richmond, MHA, RN

Vice President, Performance Improvement & Outcomes
Inova Health System – Fairfax, VA

Deneen Richmond brings over 25 years of health care experience to her role of Vice President, Performance Improvement & Outcomes at Inova Health System where she oversees quality improvement, accreditation, patient safety and infection prevention.

She has extensive experience in quality improvement, holding the position of Vice President, Quality & Care Management at Holy Cross Hospital in Maryland, as well as Senior Vice President for the Delmarva Foundation’s quality improvement and patient safety work, including the CMS Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) contracts in Maryland and Washington, DC, before becoming the Executive Director of the Foundation. Additionally, she served as Assistant Vice President of Policy at the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), where she led policy issues for NCQA’s accreditation programs and Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measurement set.

Deneen earned her Masters in Heath Services Administration from George Washington University and her BSN from the University of the District of Columbia. Ms. Richmond was a recipient of the 2004 Modern Healthcare Up and Comers Award.

Contact Information:
E: [email protected]

Pamela Rudisill

Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer
Community Health Systems Professional Services Corporation (CHSPSC)
Franklin, TN

Pamela Rudisill was appointed to Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at CHSPSC in February 2014. In her role, she supports nurses with quality and safety resources as they deliver patient care across more than 200 affiliated hospitals.

Pamela has been instrumental in promoting evidence based practice by conducting three institutional review board approved studies over the last four years before joining CHSPSC. One study was related to utilizing webcams to prevent falls; the second addressed care delivery models for medical/surgical patients with a focus on patient safety, quality and patient satisfaction; and the third evaluated practice guidelines for disclosure of adverse events in a large healthcare system. She was previously Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive for Health Management Associates and Chief Nursing Officer at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in Mooresville, NC.

Pamela’s professional memberships include the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), where she recently served a term as president; American Nurses Association (ANA); American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACCN); North Carolina Organization of Nurse Leaders (NCONL), where she also served as president for two years; and Sigma Theta Tau. She has published extensively in nursing literature and has spoken at numerous health care related seminars throughout the United States. Pamela has earned certification as a Board Certified Nursing Administrator Advanced (NEA-BC) through ANCC. She is also a 2011 Fellow inductee into the prestigious American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). In May 2012, Pamela received her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Duke University in Durham, NC.

Contact Information:
E: [email protected]
P: (615) 465-7048

Nicholas Tejeda

Chief Executive Officer
Sierra Providence East Medical Center

As chief executive officer for The Hospitals of Providence East Campus he provides strategic and operational leadership for the East Campus which serves El Paso's rapidly growing far East side. Nicholas joined The Hospitals Providence team in July 2015 after service as CEO of Doctors Hospital of Manteca in Manteca, CA.

As the Chief Executive Officer at Doctors Hospital of Manteca, Nicholas led the hospital to move from a “C” to an “A” rating as measured by The Leapfrog Group, reduced readmissions by 20%, and reduced Left Without Being Seen by 2%.  In addition, the hospital implemented a full electronic medical record, a new hospitalist program, an interventional radiology program, a laser cataract surgery program and an expanded orthopedic program including MAKOplasty.  Additionally, the hospital experienced a highly successful Joint Commission survey and entered into a full-risk capitated arrangement with a Medicare Advantage Plan.

Nicholas is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and is the Immediate-Past President of the National Forum of Latino Healthcare Executives.  In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors for the Institute for Diversity in Health Management and also serves on the AHA Equity of Care Committee.  He participates in ACHE’s Early Careerist Committee and the ACHE Leadership Mentorship Network. Nicholas sits on the External Advisory Board for the Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Nicholas earned his masters degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Kansas Medical Center and a bachelors degree in Business Management from Wichita State University.

Contact Information:
E: [email protected]

Gary R. Yates, MD

Sentara Healthcare- Norfolk, VA

President, Healthcare Performance Improvement, LLC (HPI) and President, Sentara Quality Care Network (SQCN)

Prior to his current role, Dr. Yates served as the former Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Sentara Healthcare where his responsibilities included the clinical effectiveness programs, patient safety programs, physician integration efforts and medical management initiatives for Sentara’s hospital system and health plan.

He is a board-certified family physician and fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Dr. Yates is also a member of the clinical faculty at the Eastern Virginia Medical School. Prior to joining Sentara in 1996, Dr. Yates served as Chairman, Department of Family and Community Medicine and Chief Quality Officer for Maricopa Health System in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Yates served as co-chair of IHI’s ninth annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care. He serves as Chair of the AHA/McKesson Quest for Quality Prize Selection Committee, a member of the VHA Board of Directors and a member of the editorial board for the American Journal of Medical Quality.

Contact Information:
E: [email protected]