Experienced with project management, process optimization, and strategic planning. Utilizes analytical thinking and effective communication to enhance organizational performance. Track record of implementing innovative solutions and leading teams to achieve operational success.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Director of Operations
Department of Veteran’s Health Affairs
10.2015 - Current
Oversees successful implementation of operational strategies and policies for the national Veteran Experience Center (VEC)
Develops innovative approaches to measurement of health services processes and outcomes where current methods are inadequate or nonexistent.
Designs, manages, and implements systems and procedures to maintain effective and efficient project operations; works to develop ongoing and continuous improvement for optimal efficiency.
Conducts and participates in briefings on completed, complex and diverse studies, projects/evaluations, or progress reviews to key stakeholders.
Creates, tracks and analyzes key performance indicators (KPIs) for the national VA PHC Program.
Participates, presents and monitors strategic planning for the national VA Palliative Hospice Care (PHC) Program Office.
Interprets and presents project results to a variety of audiences, including medical providers and clinicians nationwide, Executive Leadership Team members, and researchers.
Assists with quality improvement initiatives for increasing quality of end-of-life care using a data-based approach.
Assists medical providers with the creation of SMART (Specific-Measurable-Attainable-Relevant-Timely) goals to increase quality of care. Monitors and reports SMART goal outcomes.
Acts as analytical liaison between VEC and the VA National Hospice and Palliative Care Program and VA national clinical field.
Negotiates with internal and external partners to get and maintain access to VA and other data for analysis.
Statistical computing and application of statistics in the planning, execution and reporting of epidemiological data.
Provides guidance on data quality and statistical issues.
Provides statistical consultation and assistance in the preparation of manuscripts and oral briefings regarding projects and results.
Supervises staff which includes hiring, performance management, training and development, recognition, and rewards for full time project staff, all temporary staff and student workers.
Manages daily operations for the Center to ensure both cost effectiveness and productivity.
Builds effective relationships with VA leadership and clinical staff; ensures effective communication and professional relationships are developed and maintained.
Administers operational and research activities to ensure that goals and objectives are monitored, and results achieved on time; tracks progress and alerts supervisor about irregularities as appropriate.
Coordinates the submission of reports for both regulatory and administrative requirements with the project team.
Manages and reviews annual and monthly budgets; prepares detailed annual budget; monitors and submits corrections as problems arise.
Data Manager
University of Pennsylvania
02.2009 - 09.2015
Responsible for collecting and analyzing Performance Reporting and Outcomes Measurement to Improve the Standard of Care at End-of Life Center (PROMISE) data for both operational and research study use.
Maintained several databases, ensuring the integrity of the data and that all data is collected and analyzed in a timely manner for reporting to the field and journal publication submission.
Prepared and presented data to Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, clinical staff, Implementation Center, VA National Hospice and Palliative Care Program office, National Quality Forum (NQF) and Office of Quality and Performance (OQP) administrators on a regular basis.
Trained team members in best practices for data handling, improving overall productivity and data integrity.
Collaborated with cross-functional teams to identify data requirements and ensure proper integration within the system.
Enhanced data accuracy by implementing robust data validation and quality control processes.
Streamlined data management workflows for increased efficiency and reduced processing time.
Partnered with subject matter experts in continuous improvement process, upgraded data quality and recommended innovative information management strategies.
Spearheaded initiatives to automate repetitive tasks, freeing up staff time for more value-added activities.
Managed vendor relationships to ensure timely delivery of high-quality products and services at competitive prices.
Oversaw security and information retention policies and practices according to internal and government-ordered standards.
Health Science Specialist
Department of Veteran’s Health Affairs Medical Center
08.2005 - 01.2009
Responsible for recruiting potential participants and conducting phone and in-person interviews with study participants for the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP).
Assisted in various research projects which included medical chart review, IRB document preparation, and survey data collection.
Implemented and ensures protocol adherence to established guidelines.
Maintained contact and communication with various healthcare organizations and administrators around the country through email and phone correspondence.
Published articles in reputable scientific journals, contributing to the advancement of knowledge within the field of health science.
Maintained several databases, ensuring the integrity of the data and all data is collected and analyzed in a timely manner for reporting to the field and journal publication submission.
Trained and oversaw full time staff members and temporary workers on data management and collection and research study procedures.
Implemented rigorous quality control measures, ensuring accuracy and reliability of data collected from various sources.
Developed comprehensive training materials, ensuring adherence to best practices in health sciences research.
Research Associate
Saint Joseph’s University
08.2004 - 07.2005
Conducted ECERS-R and ITERS assessments and reliability trainings at early care settings in the Philadelphia area for the United Way’s Early to Learn Project (E2L).
Prepared and analyzed ECERS-R and ITERS data and contributed to the writing of reports for the United Way and William Penn Foundation.
Monitored progress against project timelines, ensuring timely completion of deliverables while maintaining high-quality standards.
Validated incoming data to check information accuracy and integrity while independently locating and correcting concerns.
Helped team meet regulatory requirements by coordinating documentation and filings.
Therapeutic Support Staff
Home Healthcare Resources, MCC / Foundations Behavioral Health
12.2003 - 07.2005
Responsible for meeting the behavioral goals outlined in the Behavioral Intervention Programs of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Responsible for meeting the goals outlined in the Individualized Education Plans (IEP) of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Improved clients daily living skills by providing guidance in areas such as personal hygiene, communication, and social interactions.
Enhanced therapy outcomes by implementing evidence-based practices and personalized treatment plans.
Assisted school staff with implementing targeted interventions within classroom settings for improved academic performance among students receiving therapeutic support.
Trained family members on techniques to support their loved ones at home, enhancing the overall effectiveness of therapy initiatives.
Education
Master of Science - Experimental Psychology
Saint Joseph’s University
Philadelphia, PA
05.2004
Bachelor of Science - Psychology
Saint Joseph’s University
Philadelphia, PA
05.2003
No Degree - Graduate School of Education
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
12.2010
Skills
Microsoft Office
STATA
SAS
SQL
CAHPS surveys
STARS metrics
CMS data
Six Sigma Green Belt
Research Publications
Life-Sustaining Treatment Decisions and Family Evaluations of End-of-Life Care for Veteran Decedents in VA Nursing Homes, Levi C, Esmaeili A, Smith D, Hogikyan RV, Periyakoil VS, Carpenter JG, Sales A, Phibbs CS, Murray A, Ersek M, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 09/24, 72, 9, 2709-2720, 10.1111/jgs.19050
Opportunities to improve end-of-life care quality among patients with short terminal admissions, Sullivan DR, Jones KF, Wachterman M, Griffin H, Kinder D, Gilbert D, Thorpe JM, Feder SL, Ersek M, Kutney-Lee A, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 10/24, 68, 4, 329-339, 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2024.05.020
Associations between Veterans Health Administration nursing home Star Ratings and quality end of life care, Carpenter JG, Kinder D, Smith D, Ersek MT, Wachterman M, Thorpe J, Sullivan DR, Bailey J, Shreve S, Kutney-Lee A, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 05/24, 67, 5, 767-768, 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2024.02.432
A comparison of end-of-life care quality for Veterans receiving hospice in VA nursing homes and community nursing homes, Wachterman MW, Smith D, Carpenter JG, Griffin HL, Thorpe J, Feder SL, Hoelter J, Ersek M, Shreve S, Kutney-Lee A, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 01/24, 72, 1, 59-68, 10.1111/jgs.18606
Validation of electronic health record-based algorithms to identify specialist palliative care within the Department of Veterans Affairs, Feder SL, Zhan Y, Abel EA, Smith D, Ersek M, Fried T, Redeker NS, Akgün KM, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 06/23, 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2023.06.023
Psychometric evaluation of the Veterans Affairs Bereaved Family Survey in community nursing homes, Kinder D, Thorpe J, Smith D, Wachterman M, Kutney-Lee A, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 09/22, 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2022.09.001
Palliative care and documented suicide: Association among Veterans with high mortality risk, Kutney-Lee, A, Khazanov G, Carpenter J, Griffin H, Kinder D Shreve S, Smith D, Thorpe J, Ersek M, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2022, 64, 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2022.04.179
Care processes and racial/ethnic differences in family reports of end-of-life care among Veterans: A mediation analysis, Kutney-Lee A, Bellamy SL, Ersek M, Medvedeva EL, Smith D, Thorpe JM, Brooks Carthon M, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 04/22, 7, 4, 1095-1105, 10.1111/jgs.17632
Family reports of end-of-life care among Veterans in home-based primary care: The role of hospice, Kinder D, Smith D, Ersek M, Wachterman M, Thorpe J, Davis D, Kutney-Lee A, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2021, 10.1111/jgs.17212162
Family members' experience improves with care preference documentation in home based primary care, Levy C, Esmaeili A, Smith D, Hogikyan R, Periyakoil VJ, Carpenter JG, Sales A, Ersek M, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 08/21, 10.1111/jgs.17410
Quality of end-of-life care for Vietnam-era Veterans: Implications for practice and policy, Kutney-Lee A, Smith D, Griffin H, Kinder D, Carpenter J, Thorpe J, Murray A, Shreve S, Ersek M, Health Care: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation, 2021, 9, 2, 10.1016/j.hjdsi.2020.100494
End-of-life care in the time of COVID-19: Communication matters more than ever, Ersek M, Smith D, Griffin H, Carpenter J, Feder SL, Shreve S, Nelson F, Kinder D, Thorpe JT, Kutney-Lee A, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2021, 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.12.024
“Why couldn’t I go in to see him?” Bereaved families’ perceptions of end-of-life communication during COVID-19, Feder SL, Smith D, Griffin H, Shreve S, Kinder D, Kutney-Lee A, Ersek M, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2021, 69, 3, 587-592, 10.1111/jgs.16993
A national study of end-of-life care among older Veterans with hearing and vision loss, Carpenter J, Ersek M, Nelson F, Kinder D, Wachterman M, Smith D, Murray A, Garrido M, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2020, 68, 4, 817-825, 10.1111/jgs.16298
A national VA palliative care quality improvement project for improving intensive care unit family meetings, Akgun KM, Gruenewald DA, Smith D, Wertheimer D, Luhrs C, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2019, 58, 6, 1075-1080, 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2019.08.015
Identifying optimal scores in the Bereaved Family Survey: Implications for practice and policy, Smith D, Thorpe J, Ersek M, Kutney-Lee A, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2019, 58, 1, 108-114, 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2019.04.002
Case-mix adjustment of the Bereaved Family Survey, Kutney-Lee A, Carpenter J, Smith D, Thorpe J, Tudose A, Ersek M, American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 2018, 35, 7, 1015-1022, 10.1177/1049909117752669
Do family comments received on quality of care surveys help systematically understand performance? Evaluation family comments on the Bereaved Family Survey, Manfredi L, Lorenz K, Smith D, Ersek M, Gale R, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2017, 53, 2, 451-452, 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2016.12.286
Associations between timing of palliative care consults and family evaluation of care for Veterans who die in hospice/palliative care units, Carpenter J, McDarby M, Smith D, Johnson M, Thorpe J, Ersek M, Journal of Palliative Medicine, 07/17, 20, 7, 745-751, 10.1089/jpm.206.0477
Associations between aggressive care and bereaved families’ evaluation of end-of-life care for Veterans with non-small cell lung cancer who died in Veteran Affairs facilities, Ersek M, Miller S, Wagner T, Thorpe J, Smith D, Levy C, Gidwani R, Faricy-Anderson K, Lorenz K, Kinosian B, Mor V, Cancer, 2017, 10.1002/cncr.20700
Race/Ethnicity and end-of-life care among Veterans, Kutney-Lee, A, Smith D, Thorpe J, del Rosario C, Ibrahim S, Ersek M, Medical Care, 2017, 55, 4, 342-351, 10.1097/MLR.00000000000006637
Quality of end-of-life care provided to patients with different serious illnesses, Wachterman MW, Pilver C, Smith D, Ersek M, Lipsitz S, Keating N, JAMA Internal Medicine, 2016, 176, 8, 1095-1102, In Press
Does mode of survey administration matter? Using measurement invariance to validate the mail and telephone versions of the Bereaved Family Survey, Thorpe J, Smith D, Kuzla N, Scott L, Ersek M, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2015, 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.11.006
Exploring nonresponse bias in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Bereaved Family Survey, Smith D, Kuzla N, Thorpe J, Scott L, Ersek M, Journal of Palliative Medicine, 2015, 18, 10, 10.1089/jpm.2015.0050
Exploring end-of-life care in VA Community Living Centers, Ersek M, Thorpe J, Kim H, Thomasson A, Smith D, Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 2015, 63, 4, 644-650, 10.1111/jgs.13348
Family involvement at the end of life and receipt of quality care, Sudore RL, Casarett D, Smith D, Richardson D, Ersek M, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2014, 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2014.04.001
A nationwide study comparing end of life care for men and women Veterans, Ersek M, Smith D, Cannuscio C, Richardson D, Moore D, Journal of Palliative Medicine, 2013, 16, 7, 734-740, PMID: 23676096
The optimal delivery of palliative care: a national comparison of the outcomes of consultation teams versus inpatient units, Casarett D, Johnson M, Smith D, Richardson D, Archives of Internal Medicine, 2011, 171, 7, 649-655
Can we make reports of end-of- life care quality more consumer-focused? Results of a nationwide quality measurement program, Smith D, Caragian N, Kazlo E et al., Journal of Palliative Medicine, 2011, 14, 3, 301-307
Families’ perceptions of inpatient and home hospice at end-of-life, De Sousa M, Smith D, Corcoran A et al., Archives of Internal Medicine, 2010, 170, 20, 1856-1857
Does non-response bias the results of retrospective surveys of end-of-life care?, Casarett D, Smith D, Breslin S et al., Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 2010, 58, 2381-2386
Families’ perceptions of end-of-life care in Veterans Affairs versus Non-Veterans Affairs facilities, Lu H, Trancik E, Bailey A, Ritchie C, Rosenfeld K, Shreve S, Furman C, Smith D et al., Journal of Palliative Medicine, 2010, 13, 8, 991-996
Measuring families’ perceptions of care across a healthcare system: Preliminary experience with the Family Assessment of Treatment at End of Life Short Form (FATE-S), Casarett D, Shreve S, Luhrs C, Lorenz K, Smith D et al., Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2010, 40, 6, 801-809
Families' perceptions of veterans' distress due to post-traumatic stress disorder-related symptoms at end of life, Alici Y, Smith D, Lu H et al., Journal of Pain Symptom Management, 2010, 39, 3, 507-513
Families’ assessments of treatment at end-of-life in VA nursing home, Corcoran A, Pickard A, Smith D, Casarett D, Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2007, 8, 3, B17
Accomplishments
Poster presentation Veterans Administration Health Services Research & Development conference, July 2015
Certification
Completed Six Sigma: Green Belt Certification, January 2025
Completed Lean Sigma Six Foundations Certification, January 2025
Completed Intro to Power BI Software Certification, June 2021
Completed the University of Pennsylvania’s Certificate Program for Administrative Excellence, March 2016
Received American Management Association’s Voice of Leadership Continuing Education: How Leaders Inspire, Influence and Achieve Results Certificate, December 2013
Completed SAS Institute training, SAS SQL 1: Essentials, June 2012
Received University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine Leading Success Program Certification, February 2012
Completed SAS Institute training, SAS Programming 2: Data Manipulation Techniques, January 2012
Completed SAS Institute training, SAS Programming 1: Essentials, December 2011
Received University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine Supervisory Skills Certification, June 2009
Timeline
Director of Operations
Department of Veteran’s Health Affairs
10.2015 - Current
Data Manager
University of Pennsylvania
02.2009 - 09.2015
Health Science Specialist
Department of Veteran’s Health Affairs Medical Center
08.2005 - 01.2009
Research Associate
Saint Joseph’s University
08.2004 - 07.2005
Therapeutic Support Staff
Home Healthcare Resources, MCC / Foundations Behavioral Health
Supervisory Biomedical Engineer at Department of Veteran’s Affairs, Syracuse VAMCSupervisory Biomedical Engineer at Department of Veteran’s Affairs, Syracuse VAMC