Distinguished Quality Professional Award

The Distinguished Quality Professional Award is designed to recognize a professional in the field of quality management, who has demonstrated significant accomplishments and contributions in the area of quality improvement. This award is designed to recognize a professional who has exhibited exceptional skills in the following areas of health care quality: leadership, expertise and knowledge of quality principles, contributions to the health care quality profession and communication, as well as being a role model for other quality professionals.

Recipients will be honored during a luncheon awards ceremony at the MHA Annual Convention and Trade Show and at the semi-annual Missouri Association for Healthcare Quality meeting.

Nominations are annually in August.

For more information, please contact Jessica Stultz, MHA, BSN, RN, CPHQ, CPPS, LSSGB, Director of Clinical Quality at the Missouri Hospital Association, at 573/893-3700.

Knudsen Honored with Distinguished Quality Professional Award

Jillian Knudsen is the Director of Quality & Care Continuum at North Kansas City Hospital. She is actively involved in the Quality pillar of the hospital’s strategic plan. As the facility moves toward top decile performance and a high reliable organization, Jillian not only prepares data on performance but provides recommendations on changes needed to move to the next decile. She has a strong grasp of current practice as well as standards of care and evidence-based practice. She is key in the producing and providing data organizationally to drive necessary change.

Jillian serves as a part-time surveyor for The Joint Commission for their Disease Specific Certification Orthopedic programs. She has been recognized by TJC for her knowledge of standards and evidence-based practice and delivery to organizations on the "why" behind the standard. Jillian facilitates many of our current certification programs in house in addition to involvement in proposed future certifications. Jillian is currently green-belt certified, working on her black belt, and is currently leading a group of 20 green-belt in-house trainees. She has presented locally and nationally on a variety of topics, including the 2022 National Association of Orthopedic Nurses on "Performance Measures, Process Improvement Projects, Program Goal, Oh My! How do you decide?" and 2023 National Association of Orthopedic Nurses podium presentation on, "Good Bones: The Master Class on the Foundation of a Successful Orthopedic Program". These examples are just a few highlights of the acknowledgement Jillian has received and requests for her to share with others.

Examples of initiatives Jillian has led are reduction efforts for complications with our Medicare elective hip and knee patients and hospital all cause readmissions.

Jillian has presented not only nationally but also locally on quality and performance improvement topics. Jillian led her teams in presentations at the 2021 KCANE Leadership Conferences on care navigation and quality improvement efforts to impact patient outcomes.