Our Quality Team

The Accreditation Office provides guidance to ensure the University of Mississippi Medical Center is continually in compliance with the highest level of quality care and patient safety standards as set by the Joint Commission (TJC), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) and other regulatory agencies.

The office is directed by Susan Allbritton.

Susan Allbritton

Risk Management focuses on monitoring and managing clinical risks for the organization. The staff manages the web-based adverse event reporting system and brings knowledgeable providers together to help improve practices. In some situations where a significant event occurs, the team will do an in-depth investigation and a root cause analysis in a non-punitive way to define process gaps and ultimately improve patient safety.

The director is Amy Appel.

Amy Appel

The Infection Prevention department monitors infection risks and occurrences across the hospital and reports infections as required to the state and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The team of content experts helps front line employees reduce hospital infections through education and performance improvement work. Investigation of infection outbreaks with follow-up action plans are done by this department.

The department is directed by Sheila Fletcher, BSN, RN, CIC.

Sheila Fletcher

This department provides centralized credentialing and privileging for providers practicing in one or more University of Mississippi Medical Center facilities. The work of this department supports the medical staffs of our hospitals in appointing providers who will positively represent the institution’s mission through provision of highly reliable and quality-focused patient care.

The department director is Amanda Roberson, MHS, CPCS, CMPSM.

Amanda Roberson

This department applies Standard Process Improvement Methodology to the projects that are prioritized to help achieve the UMMC Quality Goals each year. These goals are selected to ultimately improve health care in Mississippi. The process engineers in this department facilitate teams of front line providers for this work with structure and standardization that are the building blocks for quality outcomes.

The department executive director is Varang Parikh, MBA, PMP.

Varang Parikh

The Workplace Violence Office ensures UMMC fulfills the Joint Commission standards that guide hospitals in developing, maintaining and implementing an effective workplace violence prevention system to improve safety for patients, visitors and employees. The office is responsible for the health system’s workplace violence prevention program that increases awareness and teaches staff how to deescalate workplace violence incidents.

The workplace violence manager is Jenny Humphries, MSW, LCSW.

Jenny Humphries