Julie Cerese Returns to University HealthSystem Consortium as Vice President of Quality and Pati...( OAK BROOK Ill. Dec. 3 /- Today the Un...),Health

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 imp
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