NAHQ Announces 2022 Board Members

NAHQ welcomes new board members and re-energizes its governance structure

CHICAGO (March 18, 2022) – The National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) has announced its new board members: Emmett T. Ervin, MPA, CPHQ, University of Maryland Medical Systems, as its 2022 president; Nidia S. Williams, PhD, MBB, CPHQ, FNAHQ, Lifespan Corporation, as president-elect; Deirdre McCaughey PhD, MBA, University of Calgary, as academic strategic advisory council chair; and Krishnan “Krish” Sankaranarayanan, MS, MBA, DFASHRM, FACHE, FISQua, FNAHQ, CPHQ, CPPS, CMQ, as international strategic advisory council chair.

“This board is committed to addressing healthcare’s long-standing challenge of reducing variability in healthcare delivery by reducing variability in healthcare quality workforce competencies,” said NAHQ chief executive officer and executive director Stephanie Mercado, CAE, CPHQ. “It is an honor to welcome these industry leaders as they step into their new roles on the board. Each is committed to advancing NAHQ’s mission through the twice-validated healthcare quality competency framework and its impact on workforce development.”  

Emmett T. Ervin, MPA, CPHQ, is vice president of hospital and physician compliance at the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) based in Baltimore, Maryland. In his role, he provides oversight, direction, and consultation to ensure that UMMS meets all clinical regulatory requirements as mandated by all internal programs, organizational standards, and external agency accreditation standards. Ervin has held quality-related leadership roles in acute, behavioral health and rehabilitation settings throughout his career. For 24 years, Ervin has been administrative surveyor for CARF International among other human services boards and task forces. Ervin continues to speak nationally and internationally about quality initiatives. 

“I am proud to serve as NAHQ’s president this year,” said Ervin. “We are a part of a very special community of people passionately committed to improving patient care. And NAHQ, its competency framework and industry-standard certification, the CPHQ, provides us with the opportunity to improve performance, advance our skills, and live our commitment every day.” 

Nidia S. Williams, PhD, MBB, CPHQ, FNAHQ, is vice president of quality & patient safety for the Lifespan Corporation in Providence, Rhode Island. She provides operational oversight for core quality and patient safety functions, including coordinating process and performance improvement initiatives. Certified as a TapRooT® instructor, Dr. Williams has also earned her certified master black belt in Lean Six Sigma at the Executive Development Center at Bryant University, in Rhode Island. Dr. Williams currently serves on the editorial board for the Journal for Healthcare Quality. 

“Due to intense state and federal regulatory requirements for healthcare, maintaining or improving quality is the aim since it is proven that the highest quality care is the least expensive care to deliver,” Dr. Williams stated. “We are nearly at a crossroad, where healthcare organizations will have but one option – and that one option will be to invest in the core workforce that will drive the efficiencies, implement the systems, and redesign the processes that will ultimately decrease the cost of care.”  

Deirdre McCaughey, PhD, MBA, is an associate professor of health services research, in the department of community health sciences, at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine in Canada. Dr. McCaughey previously served on the healthcare management faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and at the Pennsylvania State University, in State College, Pennsylvania. She was also the inaugural program director for UAB’s graduate programs in healthcare quality and safety. 

“I envision the development of a standard graduate education curriculum in healthcare quality and safety (HQS) that aligns with existing NAHQ competencies and provides synergy for students and CPHQs to pursue both academic and professional designations,” Dr. McCaughey explained. “There is a critical need to pursue alignment with the association’s competencies to the standards for graduate competencies in HQS education.” 

Krishnan Sankaranarayanan, MS, MBA, DFASHRM, FACHE, FISQua, FNAHQ, CPHQ, CPPS, CMQ, is a recipient of NAHQ’s 2021 Claire Glover Distinguished Member Award, and a lead faculty and content developer for the certified healthcare risk management online course for the Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organizations (CAHO), a not-for-profit organization based in India. He has made a significant impact in leading the culture of safety program in his facility and is a founding member and past president of the American College Health Executives Middle East and North Africa chapter. 

“I have always looked to NAHQ as a repository of knowledge in the spheres of quality and patient safety,” said Sankaranarayanan. “It is my aspiration that NAHQ be a source of inspiration for healthcare quality professionals globally.” 

Also new to this year is an enhanced NAHQ governance structure built on the cross-functional planning and leadership development already in place. The new structure provides for more leadership opportunities and is organized around the goals established by the board. 

“NAHQ’s governance structure has served us well, thus far,” Mercado added. “These changes will enhance NAHQ’s ability to drive change in healthcare. It is the collective contributions and the expertise of these dedicated volunteers that ensure NAHQ’s ongoing success.” 

President: Emmett T. Ervin

President Elect: Nidia Williams

Immediate Past President: Marian Savage

Secretary Treasurer: Patricia Kirkpatrick

Intelligence & Profession Advancement Strategic Advisory Council: Esther Emard

Organizational Strategic Advisory Council: Patricia Resnik

Individual Strategic Advisory Council: April Taylor

International Strategic Advisory Council: Krishnan Sankaranarayanan

Academic Strategic Advisory Council: Deirdre McCaughey

About NAHQ

The National Association for Healthcare Quality® (NAHQ) is the only organization dedicated to healthcare quality professionals, defining the standard of excellence for the profession, and equipping professionals and organizations across the continuum of healthcare to meet these standards. NAHQ believes that to reduce variability in healthcare delivery, we must first reduce variability in healthcare quality competencies, so we focus our efforts on healthcare quality competencies and workforce development. NAHQ published the first and only Healthcare Quality Competency Framework and validated it twice in the market. We offer the only accredited certification in healthcare quality, the Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality® (CPHQ), extensive educational programming, networking opportunities and career resources to help healthcare quality professionals enhance their competencies and their value. Learn more at  nahq.org.

Media Contact

Juliana Fishleigh
jfishleigh@nahq.org
(312) 579-3083