2013 MHQP Staff

Marguerite Dresser, Director of Information Systems and Data Analysis

Marguerite Dresser joined MHQP in 2007 as the Director of Information Systems and Data Analysis, where she directs the design, development, implementation, and ongoing management of MHQP's internal and external data-based projects, technology platforms, and personnel.

Ms. Dresser has over 20 years of experience in the health care industry, where she has held progressively responsible management positions in epidemiology, clinical quality measurement, and health care research. She contributes a unique combination of analytical, methodological, communication and management expertise to MHQP. Prior to joining in 2007, Ms. Dresser was the Director of Epidemiology at Decision Resources, Inc., a strategy and advisory firm serving the health care industry. In this role she oversaw the analysis and reporting of various database and report products. Prior to this role, Ms. Dresser served as a Research Associate at Wellesley College and was involved in freelance consulting work, where she developed promotional and training materials for health informatics and health coach programs. Before Wellesley, Ms. Dresser was a Project Director in Clinical Quality Measurement at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, where she was the first author on an early "hybrid method" paper comparing methodologies for creating clinical quality measures from claims data and other sources. Ms. Dresser received a Master's in Epidemiology from Brown University and a Bachelor's in the Science and Society Program from Wesleyan University.

Janet Flaherty, Finance Manager

Janet Flaherty joined MHQP in 2007. As the Finance Manager, Ms. Flaherty is responsible for preparing and monitoring the MHQP budget and projections, performing financial analysis, managing the annual audit, supporting business development activity for grant and proposal submissions, and managing the accounting systems.

Ms. Flaherty has over 16 years of experience in accounting and finance. Prior to joining MHQP, she spent 10 years as a Financial Analyst for Millipore Corporation responsible for financial analysis for a worldwide sales division. Prior to Millipore Corporation, Ms Flaherty worked at Ernst & Young in public accounting, performing audits for industries such as manufacturing, real estate, and healthcare, and becoming certified as a C.P.A. Ms. Flaherty received a Master’s in Business Administration from Babson F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business, and a Bachelors degree in Accounting from Boston College.

Linda Griffiths, Contracts Manager

Linda Griffiths joined MHQP in 2010, as Contracts Manager overseeing the implementation and management of MHQP’s contracting functions. Ms. Griffiths’s responsibilities include supporting contract negotiation as well as overseeing administrative, legal and financial compliance. Ms. Griffiths is also responsible for the measurement and reporting of contract related metrics, and providing budget development expertise and support for new business activities.

Ms. Griffiths brings over 20 years of healthcare experience in project management, product development, finance, and healthcare analytics to MHQP. Prior to joining MHQP, Ms. Griffiths was the Director of Project Management at WebMD. In this role she managed a major upgrade and release of decision support software designed to measure inpatient cost and quality outcomes, including developing a quality assurance testing program. At WebMD, she also held a position as Director of Client Operations, in which she managed an implementation and client support team, and consulted with clients on the development of tiered networks, pay for performance programs and targeted disease management programs. Prior to this, Ms. Griffiths spent 15 years at CIGNA Healthcare where she was involved in the network development for CIGNA’s managed care products throughout New England. She also held various positions of increasing responsibility in Medical Economics and Finance. Ms. Griffiths holds a Masters in Business Administration from Babson College, and a Bachelor’s degree from Springfield College.

Tracey Hyams, Project Director, Massachusetts Child Health Quality Coalition

Tracey Hyams joined MHQP in 2013 as the Project Director for the Massachusetts Child Health Quality Coalition. Ms. Hyams began her career as a lawyer specializing in insurance regulation and litigation. Since earning an MPH in 1992, she has worked with stakeholders across the health care system to promote better understanding of state and federal health reform options, health policy, and the politics of health. She developed the Women’s Health Policy and Advocacy Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital; served in leadership roles at the Harvard Program on the Future of Health Care and Harvard Center for Ethics in Managed Care; managed the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Innovations in State Health Reform program; and ran a consulting firm centered on research, strategic planning, and fundraising. She has published and lectured widely on women’s health policy and health reform.

Ms. Hyams is a former member of the MHQP’s Patient and Public Engagement Council, a founder of the Richardson Field Community Association and an active member of Temple Sinai in Brookline, MA. She holds a BA in Human Development from the State University of New York at Binghamton, an MPH from Harvard School of Public Health and a JD from Emory Law School.

Rose Judge, Project Director, Patient Experience Survey

Rose Judge joined MHQP in 2006 and is the Project Director responsible for directing its patient experience measurement work including survey administration and reporting. Ms. Judge manages MHQP’s Statewide Patient Experience Survey and coordinates the participation of commercial health plans supporting the project. She manages the private and public reporting of survey results to physician groups and the public. Ms. Judge also directed the field test of the Patient-Centered Medical Home survey instrument for NCQA.

Ms. Judge comes to MHQP with more than 20 years of experience in health care. Prior to joining MHQP, Ms. Judge was responsible for coordinating quality reporting for the Clinical Quality Measurement department at Tufts Health Plan. She brings an expertise with industry standard quality measurement and quality reporting, such as HEDIS and CAHPS, as well as accreditation. Ms. Judge received a Master's degree in Public Health, with a focus on Health Services, from Boston University School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts.

Char Kasprzak, Statistical Data Analyst

Char Kasprzak joined MHQP in 2012 as the Statistical Data Analyst. She collaborates on multiple project teams to plan and inform analytic initiatives, and produces and interprets statistical data results using SPSS and SAS for projects including MHQP’s Patient Experience Survey and Clinical Quality reporting for Massachusetts physicians and for the CHIPRA project.

Ms. Kasprzak brings over 8 years of experience producing data-driven results in health care analysis settings including the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy, Quincy Medical Center, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master’s in Public Health concentrating in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Tufts University School of Medicine.

Leslie Kirle, Project Director, Greater Boston Aligning Forces for Quality

Leslie Kirle joined MHQP in 2010 as the Project Director for the Greater Boston Aligning Forces for Quality Initiative (GBAF4Q). As Project Director, she provides overall project leadership and grant management to this Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supported effort. She works with a diverse group of community stakeholders to achieve sustained improvement in the area’s health care system through community-wide performance measurement and reporting, consumer engagement, and quality improvement efforts.

Ms. Kirle has over 25 years of experience launching and directing innovative quality improvement, patient safety, and public health initiatives. In addition to her role as Project Director, Ms. Kirle has a consulting practice where she works with providers and policy makers on programs to advance quality and patient safety. Prior to beginning her consulting practice, Ms. Kirle served as the Senior Director of Clinical Policy and Patient Advocacy at the Massachusetts Hospital Association (MHA), where she succeeded at positioning MHA and its member hospitals as national leaders in quality and patient safety. She led a statewide project to develop a set of best practices to prevent medication errors, and was a founding member of the nationally recognized Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors. Ms. Kirle is also a published author and researcher. She consulted on a federally funded $4.5 million grant on mandatory reporting systems and error disclosure practices and served on the National Quality Forum’s Advisory Committee Tracking the NQF-Endorsed Voluntary Consensus Standards for Nursing Care. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at Boston University and a Masters of Public Health degree in Health Systems from Boston University School of Medicine.

Barbara Lambiaso, Project Manager, Communications

Barbara Lambiaso joined MHQP in 2005 as a Project Manager. She manages communications efforts and public relations outreach related to public releases of data for MHQP's quality reporting projects. Ms. Lambiaso also manages communications for the Greater Boston Aligning Forces for Quality initiative and contributes to the day-to-day operations for this RWJF-funded program managed by MHQP.

Ms. Lambiaso brings over 15 years of project management experience in the areas of public health and communications to her role with MHQP. Prior to MHQP, Ms. Lambiaso managed the development of health promotion materials and public health campaigns with the Massachusetts Health Promotion Clearinghouse, a project of Health Resources in Action, formerly The Medical Foundation. She has experience working with a broad range of stakeholders to bring success to collaborative projects, including engaging government organizations, private agencies, and community groups in the areas of public health and healthcare. Ms. Lambiaso holds a Master's degree in Social Work and a Master's degree in Public Health from Boston University. She received her Bachelor's degree in Communication and Psychology from the University of Buffalo.

Jason Leistikow, Information Systems Developer

Jason Leistikow joined MHQP in 2008 as an Information Systems Developer with responsibilities that include creating application and database structures used for supporting MHQP operations.

Mr. Leistikow brings over 15 years of experience in the IT field. Prior to joining MHQP, Mr. Leistikow was an Applications Developer for the State Street Corporation in Boston. At this organization, he was responsible for creating and maintaining applications used to improve operating efficiencies within the organization. Previously, Mr. Leistikow was a Programmer/Analyst for the Picker Institute, a Boston-based healthcare quality research organization. Mr. Leistikow holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration/Management Information Systems from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Polly Marvin, Project Manager

Polly Marvin joined MHQP in 2006. She manages MHQP’s annual reporting of HEDIS clinical quality measures to providers and to the public. She also manages a pilot project to produce clinical quality reporting on the MassHealth (Medicaid) population. As of 2012 she supports MHQP’s newly-formed Patient and Public Engagement Council.

Ms. Marvin has more than 30 years of experience in inpatient and outpatient settings as a health care administrator, including program development, operations, planning, and research project management. In her previous position at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, she was Assistant Director of Research, and helped to initiate Harvard Vanguard's Office of Clinical Research. She was an administrator in medical and surgical specialties, beginning at Harvard Community Health Plan. She has also worked at Tufts New England Medical Center and at Brigham and Women's Hospital. She has a Master's degree in Public Health from Yale University, and a Bachelor's degree in sociology from Connecticut College.

Brian Patrolia, Principal Information Systems Analyst

Brian Patrolia joined MHQP in 2004, and is the Principal Information Systems Analyst for MHQP with responsibilities that include the planning, design and implementation of data analysis and reporting systems.

Mr. Patrolia brings over 20 years experience in the IT field, specializing in healthcare quality improvement. Prior to joining MHQP, Mr. Patrolia was Director of Information Technology and Senior Programmer for the Picker Institute, a Boston-based healthcare quality research organization. At the Institute he was responsible for the information technology strategy and implementation. He managed the successful design and development of high-volume, graphical report generators for patient satisfaction survey results. Previously, Mr. Patrolia was Senior Programmer at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and was an independent consultant for clients such as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (formerly the Health Care Financing Administration). Mr. Patrolia holds a Bachelor's degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Massachusetts.

Janet Peluso, Director of Finance and Contracting

Janet Peluso joined MHQP in 2001. As the Director of Finance and Contracting, Ms. Peluso oversees all of MHQP's financial management functions and contracting activities, including financial reporting, budgeting, and business planning, as well as contract negotiations and management.

Ms. Peluso has over 20 years of experience in administration, strategic and business planning, and financial management in a variety of health care settings including, medical groups, managed care/insurance, hospitals and nursing homes. Before coming to MHQP in 2001, Ms. Peluso spent 5 years with Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates overseeing the implementation of new systems and processes to support their transition from staff model HMO to private medical practice. Prior to that, Ms. Peluso spent several years at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care managing a variety of strategic and business planning activities. Ms. Peluso also worked as a Senior Project Manager at Boston Medical Center developing and overseeing projects designed to improve hospital operations; and as a Public Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand specializing in health care clients. Ms. Peluso has a Master's in Business Administration from The Wharton School of Business and a Bachelor's in Accounting and Health Systems Management from the University of Connecticut.

Lauren Porter, Project Specialist

Lauren Porter joined MHQP in 2009. Her responsibilities include managing the project team for MHQP's Clinical Quality Project, coordinating activities around MHQP’s Patient and Public Engagement Council, and playing a key role in the research, development and publication of MHQP’s Guidelines. She also initiated and manages MHQP’s multiple social media platforms, and contributes to the communications aspects of many of MHQP’s other projects.

Ms. Porter brings over 7 years of experience of working with government and non-profit organizations in policy analysis, stakeholder engagement, and program evaluation. Ms. Porter holds a Master's in Public Management from SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan, Italy, and a Bachelor's of Policy Studies and Political Science from Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.

Barbra Rabson, Executive Director

Barbra Rabson has been the executive director of the Massachusetts Health Quality Partners (MHQP) since 1998. Under Ms. Rabson’s leadership, MHQP has become a trusted source of physician performance information in Massachusetts, and MHQP is nationally recognized for its collaborative approach to collecting and reporting performance information to improve care.

Ms. Rabson is a founding member and past board chair of the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI), a national network of regional health improvement collaboratives. In 2011 she served on the Connected Health Symposium Advisory Committee and the Mayor of Boston’s selection committee for the Mayoral Prize for Innovations in Primary Care. Ms. Rabson brings broad-based experience from the managed care, hospital, and health care arenas to her collaborative role at MHQP. She received her Master's in Public Health from Yale University and her undergraduate degree from Brandeis University.

Gina Rogers, Consultant, Massachusetts Child Health Quality Coalition

Gina Rogers re-joined MHQP in 2011 and served two years as Project Director for the Massachusetts Child Health Quality Coalition. As Project Director, Ms. Rogers oversaw the development of the Coalition’s strategic plan and action steps to address priority gaps impacting children’s health in Massachusetts.

Ms. Rogers has a long history developing innovative quality improvement and patient safety initiatives. She was the founding Executive Director of MHQP in 1995, helping develop the mission, strategic plan, and funding streams for the organization and launching its initial projects providing public release of comparative measures of hospital care, promoting payer-provider alignment around quality improvement reporting and guidelines, and implementing collaborative improvement networks. She supported a strategic priority-setting process for the Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors and led its multi-hospital Reconciling Medications Collaborative. She also worked with the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality’s (NICHQ) efforts promoting innovative solutions to improve child health, producing the report Innovative Prevention Programs for Improving Children’s Healthcare in California spotlighting promising practices.

Ms. Rogers received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics at Cornell University, and spent many years doing economic research and consulting.

Linda Shaughnessy, Project Director, Business Development and Performance Measurement

Linda Shaughnessy joined MHQP in 2010 and is responsible for managing business development initiatives and quality performance/measurement reporting projects. Ms. Shaughnessy brings to MHQP over 15 years of broad-based health care experience providing project and program management in the areas of strategic and business planning, market research and analysis, marketing communications, quality decision support and internal and external (state and federal) quality measurement reporting and payment programs.

Ms. Shaughnessy spent over 12 years at Partners HealthCare, most recently as a senior project manager for Partners Clinical Affairs focused on system-wide quality measurement programs, and previously as a senior manager for Partners Business Planning and Market Development. Prior to joining Partners HealthCare, Ms. Shaughnessy worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts in strategic and business planning. Before joining health care, Ms. Shaughnessy spent over 6 years in consumer product marketing. Ms. Shaughnessy has a Master's in Business Administration from Northeastern University, and a Bachelor's degree from Babson College.

Juliane Scrivens, Project Specialist

Juliane Scrivens joined MHQP in 2010. Ms. Scrivens coordinates activities around MHQP’s patient experience survey projects including the MHQP’s Statewide Commercial Patient Experience Survey and the Massachusetts Aligned Patient Experience Survey. Ms. Scrivens also manages communication with physician network and medical group contacts related to MHQP’s Massachusetts Provider Database (MPD).

Ms. Scrivens brings more than 7 years experience working in clinical research administration and state-level public health programs. Prior to her role at MHQP, Ms. Scrivens was the Financial Coordinator for Boston University School of Medicine’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Ms. Scrivens holds a Master’s degree in Public Health with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Boston University and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Tufts University.

Janice Singer, Director of Operations

Janice Singer has been the Director of Operations for MHQP since 2003. Ms. Singer is responsible for directing the internal operations of the organization. In this role she oversees the implementation of MHQP's clinical quality initiatives that include aggregating and publicly reporting the comparative clinical quality performance of medical groups serving the commercially insured, as well a pilot project to compare performance for practices serving the MassHealth population (the Massachusetts Medicaid program), and a CMS funded private-public partnership focused on child health care. She also is directing the development and implementation of MHQP’s new Practice Pattern Variation Analysis program and oversees the on-going implementation of MHQP’s Statewide Patient Experience Surveys.

Ms. Singer has over 25 years of experience in health care program development, management and research. She has served as Director of Managed Care Programs for the Massachusetts Medicaid Program and as a Senior Project Director for the Health Policy Center of Brandeis University where she evaluated health care programs across the United States. Ms. Singer spent 11 years with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, directing a variety of program development and strategic planning departments. Before joining MHQP, she was the Director of Market Research and Business Development at Fallon Community Health Plan in Worcester, Massachusetts. Ms. Singer received a Master's degree in Public Health from Harvard University and a Master's in Sociology from Boston College. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Maryland.

Randi Zegman, Data Team Project Coordinator

Randi Zegman joined MHQP in 2011 as the Project Coordinator for the Data Team and the CMS funded CHIPRA pediatric quality measurement project. Her responsibilities include researching and coordinating activities related to the Massachusetts Child Health Quality Coalition, assisting with CHIPRA administrative tasks, measure development, analysis and reporting of quality performance data, and providing customer service support for the MHQP Massachusetts Provider Database (MPD).

Prior to her role at MHQP, Randi served as an intern and Support Specialist for the Massachusetts eHealth Institute, where she coordinated educational summits for the Regional Extension Center and administered projects to promote the statewide adoption of health information technology. Ms. Zegman holds a Bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University with majors in Psychology and Health: Science, Society, and Policy, and a minor in Education Studies.

 

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