Coleen A. Smith
RN, MBA, CPHQ, CPPS, Certified RPI Black Belt Director, High Reliability Initiatives
Coleen Smith is Director of High Reliability Initiatives for the Joint C®ommission Center for Transforming Healthcare. In this role, she is responsible for the development, coordination and implementation of activities supporting the adoption of high reliability practices in health care.
Ms. Smith joined The Joint Commission in 2004 and the Center in 2011. Prior to her current role, she held the role of Project Lead and Robust Process Improvement Black Belt in the Center where she led or co-led strategic projects on Reducing Colorectal Surgical Site Infections, Preventing Avoidable Heart Failure hospitalizations and Safety Culture. In her prior work at The Joint Commission, Ms. Smith held the position of Patient Safety Specialist in the Office of Quality and Patient Safety Sentinel Event Unit.
Prior to Joining the Joint Commision, Ms. Smith held positions in the areas of quality improvement, leadership and clinical pediatric specialty care at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego and Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.
Ms. Smith obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her Masters of Business Administration-Health Care Administration from the University of Phoenix in San Diego, California. She is a certified Robust Process Improvement® Black Belt and is currently licensed in Illinois as a registered nurse. She also maintains certifications as a Certified Professional in Health Care Quality and a Certified Professional in Patient Safety.