Treasa Chidester
Redondo Beach,CA
Summary
Senior level nurse attorney with broad range of experience in risk management and healthcare law. Has overseen risk management activities and provided risk management guidance for facilities of all sizes ranging from ambulatory centers to academic medical centers. Enjoys team work and building relationships through collaboration.
Overview
28
28
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Traveling Staff Nurse in the Operating Room
Reston Hospital Center
Medical-Surgical Staff Nurse
North Okaloosa Medical Center
01.1998
Division Director Acute Care Risk Management
Universal Health Services, Inc.
08.2020 - Current
- Responsible for development of the risk management program for the Acute Care Division of UHS, a fortune 500 corporation which is comprised of 28 acute care facilities and associated free standing emergency departments in six different states and the District of Columbia
- Oversee six direct reports including regional / group risk managers
- Ultimately responsible for all risk advice to facilities regarding risk management and patient safety events
- Work closely and collaboratively with the legal department, compliance, and regulatory
- Integral part of the small team tasked to respond and coordinate efforts for adverse events and adverse regulatory actions
- Collaborate with claims department to evaluate claims and mitigate issues that arise from claims analysis
- Instrumental in driving the agenda for Corporate Patient Safety Council and development of annual patient safety goals for the organization
- Key member of the UHS Acute Care PSO Governing Council
- Developed an risk management educational committee to provide continuing education learning opportunities
- Published an investigation toolkit to standardize safety event response and investigation across the acute care division
- Publish, through the PSO, clinical safety alerts for facilities on emerging risk issues that may affect the entire division as well as quarterly risk management newsletters
- Perform quarterly and annual claims analysis to drive risk priorities and initiatives
- Present annually a summary of the risk program to insurance underwriters
- Implemented a corporate monitored, facility driven process for claims mitigation on paid claims over a set dollar amount
- Content expert on risk mitigation and answer day to day operational risk questions from facilities
- Work with compliance, regulatory, accreditation, and legal departments as content expert on clinical and regulatory risks
- Stay current on healthcare regulations (CMS, The Joint Commission, and applicable state healthcare oversight agencies) as well as trends in healthcare compliance
- Collaborate and provide back-up coverage when needed to the physician practice arm of UHS
- When covering, provide guidance on physician practice risk management issues, for example handling of medical board complaints, crisis management after events, and advice on grievances and patient dismissal letters
- Work in partnership with the current physician practice risk manager to ensure the physician practice is on notice of incidents that occur in a facility so that potential claims can be investigated and reported appropriately to the insurance department.
Corporate Group Risk Manager
Universal Health Services, Inc.
05.2017 - 08.2020
- Work with UHS facilities to operationalize the UHS Risk Management program titled “The Technical Elements of Risk Management”
- Oversee Risk Management activities for assigned UHS facilities, including facilities in the CA Region, South Texas Region and Washington, D.C
- Provide advice and guidance on clinical risk activities, regulatory, privacy and compliance as needed
- Serve as a resource and mentor to facility risk management staff
- Provide risk oversight and response to operational and clinical risk questions in assigned regions
- Including advice on regulatory, privacy and compliance when applicable
- Assist facilities to submit insurance claims and gather information for outside counsel as the claim matures
- Draft risk management publications under the UHS Patient Safety Organization for distribution across UHS to mitigate known risk trends
- Assist facility risk management departments with preparing Event Notifications and preparing for root cause analysis meetings after an adverse event
- Assist facilities with gap analysis of high-risk areas or service lines, including new free standing emergency departments.
Patient Safety Manager
Torrance Memorial Medical Center
08.2015 - 04.2017
- Responsible for development of Patient Safety Plan and Program for Torrance Memorial Medical Center
- Responsible for assessment of hospital culture of safety and implementation of action plans for low scoring domains
- Drive change in patient safety practices through multiple committees and executive level patient safety meeting
- Review and investigate adverse incident reports for deviation from the standard of care, including those reportable to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
- Track and analyze risk and safety data for trends
- Lead process improvement projects centered on improving patient outcomes
- This work included working with physician partners and chairs to develop protocols and improvement goals
- Two projects of note were a post-partum hemorrhage project to decrease overall hysterectomy rates from unrecognized hemorrhage and a project to improve pressure injuries through standardized turning and skin assessment protocols.
Associate Senior Counsel, Director of Management
John Hopkins Health System
10.2012 - 08.2015
- Provide legal advice regarding risk management, patient care, environmental safety, ethics, and regulatory matters to the clinical staff and administration of Sibley Memorial Hospital
- Member of Johns Hopkins legal department in the Risk Management practice group
- Responsible for interpretation of laws, regulations, Joint Commission standards of care and related matters
- Integral member of the hospital’s Executive Staff
- Responsible for incident reporting system management and trending of events
- Develop yearly strategic goals for patient safety and risk mitigation activities
- Review system-wide policies, procedures and practices for potential risk of exposure
- Participate in patient safety and other essential leadership committees and improvement teams to prevent future risk
- Coordinate root cause analysis and focused review of serious events
- Developed a weekly “Report of Harm” to disseminate to hospital leadership
- Assist patient relations with grievances that raise clinical issues
- Advise and respond to quality-of-care concerns raised by regulatory bodies
- Spearhead health system patient safety and risk mitigation initiatives including chaperone policy adoption, increasing safety of psychiatric units and increasing safety of obstetrical units
- Assist with litigation and claims activities by alerting JHHS Insurance and Claims of potential compensable events; gathering and securing documents and evidence and working with outside defense counsel on active cases to facilitate litigation
- Direct a staff of two including a clinical Risk Manager and paralegal with an annual operating budget of 350K
- Review contracts for admission agreements, providers and independent contractors
- Work with Compliance department to investigate and respond to compliance complaints and investigations
- Provide guidance on physician practice risk management for employed physician practices that were onsite at Sibley Memorial Hospital.
Director of Risk Management / Compliance Officer
The George Washington University Hospital
01.2012 - 10.2012
- Oversee the hospital’s Risk Management Department including loss control effort by advising hospital staff of potential sources of loss
- Responsible for all clinical risk issues
- Collaborate without outside counsel to prepare for litigation
- Drafts recommendations to minimize or eliminate hospital exposure
- Investigate and report adverse events
- Prepares probable claim reports on potential liability issues and manage claims working with corporate claims department
- Monitors hospital compliance with federal healthcare statutes and compliance laws
- Investigates alleged regulatory breaches, either independently or in collaboration with the Privacy Officer
- Conduct training sessions for hospital staff on various legal topics including confidentiality, medical malpractice, EMTALA, and restraint use
- Hospital designee at various litigation events including mediations and depositions when necessary
- Communicate with risk management and general counsel’s office at the medical group to put them on notice of incidents involving their employed physicians and collaborate on potential mitigation strategies for identified problems.
Staff Attorney
Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles
01.2007 - 05.2010
- Managed a caseload of over 100 neglect and abuse cases in the California Dependency Juvenile Court
- Appeared daily in court for oral arguments and taking testimony from witnesses
- Participated in negotiations, settlements, and mediations
- Interviewed clients between the ages of 4 and 21
- Researched unusual legal issues and drafted motions
- Helped file or respond to writ petitions filed in the Court of Appeal
- Participated in policy reform by working with the Department of Children and Family Services.
Staff Attorney
Demler, Armstrong, & Rowland, L.L.P.
01.2006 - 01.2007
- Provided litigation assistance for insurance coverage cases
- Drafted legal memoranda, letters, and pleadings
- Reviewed and compiled copious medical records and bills to identify additional sources of discovery and prepare for deposition and settlement
- Attended depositions in construction defect cases, specifically toxic mold cases.
Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner
Inova Health Systems
01.2001 - 01.2003
- Perform head-to-toe physical examination including medical history as well as collect evidence on acute and chronic patients of reported sexual assault
- Generate a non-biased report of findings of exam
- Testify to report, if needed.
Staff Nurse of the Operating Room
Inova Fair Oaks Hospital
01.2000 - 01.2002
Staff Nurse of the Operating Room
Fort Walton Beach Medical Center
01.1998 - 01.2000
Surgical Care Assistant
Memorial Hospital Center
01.1996 - 01.1997
Education
Juris Doctor -
The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
Washington, DC05.2005
Bachelor of Science in Nursing -
Beth-El College of Nursing, The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, CO01.1997
Skills
- Regulatory Compliance
- Risk Mitigation
- Healthcare compliance
- Teamwork and Collaboration
Certification
- California Nursing License, Active and in good standing
- California Bar, Inactive, in good standing
- Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management, Current
Personal Information
Title: RN, BSN, CPHRM, JD
Publications
- Docket Summary: FCC Spectrum Policy Report, Commlaw Conspectus, 12, 121, 2004
- What the #$%& Is Happening on Television? Indecency in Broadcasting, Commlaw Conspectus, 13, 135, 2005
- Adverse and Sentinel Maternal Events: Effective follow-up, (4th) High Risk & Critical Care Obstetrics, Chidester, T, Hess, N.
Timeline
Division Director Acute Care Risk Management
Universal Health Services, Inc.
08.2020 - Current
Corporate Group Risk Manager
Universal Health Services, Inc.
05.2017 - 08.2020
Patient Safety Manager
Torrance Memorial Medical Center
08.2015 - 04.2017
Associate Senior Counsel, Director of Management
John Hopkins Health System
10.2012 - 08.2015
Director of Risk Management / Compliance Officer
The George Washington University Hospital
01.2012 - 10.2012
Staff Attorney
Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles
01.2007 - 05.2010
Staff Attorney
Demler, Armstrong, & Rowland, L.L.P.
01.2006 - 01.2007
Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner
Inova Health Systems
01.2001 - 01.2003
Staff Nurse of the Operating Room
Inova Fair Oaks Hospital
01.2000 - 01.2002
Medical-Surgical Staff Nurse
North Okaloosa Medical Center
01.1998
Staff Nurse of the Operating Room
Fort Walton Beach Medical Center
01.1998 - 01.2000
Surgical Care Assistant
Memorial Hospital Center
01.1996 - 01.1997
Traveling Staff Nurse in the Operating Room
Reston Hospital Center
Juris Doctor -
The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
Bachelor of Science in Nursing -
Beth-El College of Nursing, The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
- California Nursing License, Active and in good standing
- California Bar, Inactive, in good standing
- Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management, Current
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