Acute Care: Zero Harm - Save Lives and Dollars (Health Care Conference)

Debra Allen, RN, BSN, MBA, CPHQ, CPPS
Director of Patient Safety
Cancer Treatment Centers of America

Debra Allen is the Director of Patient Safety at Cancer Treatment Centers of America®, Boca Raton, Fl.  In this role, Ms. Allen develops and directs various processes for achieving a just culture and high reliability for patient safety across the enterprise.  This includes oversight of the network’s safety event reporting system, safety and cancer related process and structure indicators, patient safety education and support initiatives.

Ms. Allen has over 35 years of experience in healthcare including clinical ICU nursing, case management, accreditation preparedness, quality and performance improvement experience and within the past 3 years focused on patient safety and creating a just culture. Prior to taking the role as Director of Patient Safety, she served as the Quality Director for Southwestern Regional Medical Center at CTCA in Tulsa. 

An RN by background, she is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, a Certified Professional in Patient Safety, trained in Six Sigma methodology and AHRQ TeamSTEPPS.   

Diane S. Denny, MHA, FACHE, CPHQ, CPPS, CSSGB
Vice President of Quality, Patient Safety & Clinical Outcomes
Cancer Treatment Centers of America

Diane S. Denny is the Vice President of Quality, Patient Safety, and Clinical Outcomes at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Boca Raton, Florida. In this role, Ms. Denny develops and directs various processes for achieving continuous quality improvement across the enterprise. This includes oversight of the network's clinical outcome, process and structure indicators, patient safety initiatives, patient self­reported outcomes and experience data, pay-for-performance initiatives, and care collaboratives.

Ms. Denny has over 25 years of experience in measuring, improving, and demonstrating healthcare quality. Prior to coming to CTCA, most recently she served as Vice President of Quality & Patient Safety for Catholic Health East, one of the nation's largest faith based healthcare systems overseeing the function of quality across the care continuum. At CHE, she also oversaw the systems' commitment to physician loyalty, diversity, and operational excellence.

She is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, a Certified Professional in Patient Safety, and formally trained and certified in Six Sigma methodology by the American Society for Quality. Ms. Denny also served 5 years as a reviewer for the state of New York in the Pinnacle award for quality and on the board of examiners for a number of years with the Malcolm Baldrige Award. She is currently pursuing her doctorate degree in business administration.