September 21, 2018
An increased focus on patient safety and quality is a system priority for TriHealth, and, therefore, I am pleased to announce that Jeff Norton has joined us as senior leader of the newly created TriHealth Institute for Safety, Reliability, and Clinical Performance Improvement. This new position takes the place of and significantly expands upon the role of vice president of quality and accreditation, which was vacated by the retirement of Larry Johnstal.Jeff has a proven history of implementing process improvement, reducing adverse safety events and building high-reliability organizations (HROs) within health systems. In this new role, Jeff will report to me and oversee the operations of the Institute to reliably deliver exceptional clinical performance that is efficient with safety as the priority. He will jump right into our HRO initiative, which we announced at the May Leadership Development Institute, and help us in “Leading the Way to Zero.”
Originally a mechanical engineer with expertise in General Electric 6 Sigma and Toyota Lean Production Methodology – both process improvement and reliability approaches used broadly in the for-profit business world – Jeff applied his skills to the health care industry beginning in 2001, when he joined St. Joseph Healthcare in Lexington as Director of Process Improvement. Following that, he was the Director of Clinical Services for Catholic Health Initiatives (a TriHealth sponsor), Director of Enterprise Quality and Safety for UK Healthcare, and, most recently, Chief Performance Officer for UC Health since 2014. Prior to his health care career, Jeff worked for The Timken Co., a Fortune 500 automotive supplier, and Anderson Consulting (now known as Accenture).
A leader in health care process improvement, Jeff has co-developed a high-reliability curriculum for physicians in conjunction with the American Association of Physician Leadership (AAPL) and Health Performance Improvement (HPI). He also has written articles published in the Journal of Nursing Care Quality, Health Care Advisory Board, and Joint Commission Journal on Quality & Safety.
Jeff has both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Jeff and his wife, Robin, have two adult children, who are both engineers. Jeff said TriHealth “is clearly on the path to be a national leader in health care delivery, and I’m proud to be joining the team at this time to help on the journey.”
The development of this Institute and the hiring of Jeff underscore the importance of keeping safety, reliability, and exceptional clinical performance at the center of all we do. Join me in welcoming Jeff to TriHealth.
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