Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center, (MAHHC) has named Otelah Perry, MS, MT, MB, CMQOE as its new Director of Quality, Patient Safety, and Compliance. The position, created in 2016, is part of the Hospital’s Senior Leadership Team, with Perry reporting to Dr Joseph Perras, President, CEO, and Chief Medical Officer. As Director of Quality, Patient Safety, and Compliance, Perry is responsible for the administration of quality and patient safety initiatives and ensuring compliance with state and federal healthcare regulations.
Perry, who previously served as the MAHHC Lab Director, was selected from a list of highly-qualified candidates following a national search. According to Dr Perras, “Otelah has done tremendous work in our Laboratory, and has served on numerous interdisciplinary teams at MAHHC, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DMHC), and at the Value Institute of Dartmouth Hitchcock Health.” Dr Perras says she brings many years of experience in quality and process improvement to her new role, heading an MAHHC team of nurses, analysts, and coordinators to ensure safety and compliance with state and federal regulations.
Perry became MAHHC Lab Director in January, 2017, serving concurrently as a Senior Performance Improvement Consultant for DMHC. Her previous roles at DMHC include Pathology Quality System Manager, Technical Team Lead, and Medical Technologist. She is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training graduate from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, and coaches new practitioners in team-based performance improvement. In 2013, the Pathology team led by Perry was awarded the Operational Excellence Award for the implementation of Lean Six Sigma in the laboratory. Perry is a 2013 winner of Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Varnum Quality Award, for work that “embodies a deep commitment to creating and sustaining an environment of high-quality patient and family-centered care.”
Perry holds a BS in Medical Laboratory Science from the University of New Hampshire, and earned a Master’s degree in Health Care Administration from New England College in 2008. She is a Certified Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence through ASQ, the American Society for Quality.
Away from work, Perry is a mother to three children and coaches young runners as part of Girls on the Run Vermont. She resides in Windsor, Vermont.
About Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center
Founded in 1933, Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) is a not-for-profit community hospital network in Vermont including the critical access-designated Mt Ascutney Hospital and Historic Homes of Runnemede, a senior residential care campus, in Windsor, as well as the Ottauquechee Health Center in Woodstock. Affiliated with the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health System, MAHHC provides primary care and a comprehensive suite of specialty services, along with 25 inpatient beds, a therapeutic pool and an acclaimed, fully modernized 10-bed Acute Rehabilitation Center. Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center is dedicated to improving the lives of those it serves and is at the hub of a wide network of community resources that have partnered to cover gaps in services, and improve overall population health. One of the largest employers in the area, MAHHC acknowledges its employees as its greatest asset and has been recognized by the Governor’s Office with an Excellence in Worksite Wellness award.
Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), is a recent recipient of Best Practice recognition by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) for health care quality, and is recognized by the American Hospital Association (AHA) as one of the “Most Wired” hospitals for integration of technology to boost clinical performance. The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has awarded MAHHC with Level 3 status, the highest level of medical home designation.