Beebe Healthcare announces new chief quality officer

Beebe Healthcare recently announced Troy Schmit will be its new vice president and chief quality officer.

Since September, Schmit has been with Beebe in an interim role and has quickly become a key contributor to the leadership team.

Schmit has been dedicated to the pursuit of patient safety and healthcare quality for more than 30 years. His expertise in improving quality and safety metrics has already had a significant impact on Beebe’s operations. He also brings experience in accreditation, performance improvement, patient experience, strategy deployment and change management.

“I am confident and excited that Troy will continue to support Beebe’s focus on safety, quality and the ongoing pursuit of excellent care for the people of Sussex County,” said Paul Sierzenski, MD, MSHQS, CPE, FACEP, senior vice president and chief physician executive. “Beebe’s strategic vision is built on a foundation of quality and safety in the healthcare and wellness care we provide to our patients and community.”

Most recently, Schmit served as chief quality officer at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, overseeing 26 ambulatory medical clinics, and eight regional family and internal medicine programs across the state. He provided executive leadership in areas such as clinical quality, infection prevention, patient safety, patient experience, performance improvement, regulatory and accreditation, workplace violence prevention, population health, value-based care, health equity, and clinical quality data and reporting.

“I’m excited to work with Troy to further emphasize multidisciplinary care pathways and protocols to further drive evidence-based practice for industry standard quality metrics such as sepsis, hip fractures and many other conditions,” said Kathy Tregear, RN, BSN, MSN, MBA, JD, NEA-BC, senior vice president and chief nursing executive. “Building a close partnership between physicians, advanced practice clinicians and nurses, we will continue to advance Beebe’s culture of safety that champions teamwork.”

Schmit’s healthcare leadership career began more than a decade ago at Providence Health and Services in Oregon. Over 15 years, he held five leadership positions in different areas of the system, focusing on quality, safety, accreditation and performance improvement.

After Providence, Schmit joined Oregon Health & Science University, where he helped build a culture of excellence. Utilizing Lean methods and management systems, he played a key role in OHSU’s achievement of Magnet designation, a 5-Star CMS ranking, and a top 10 AMC ranking by Vizient.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in human biology from Stanford University and a master’s in health administration from Indiana University. He is also certified as a master black belt in addition to holding certifications in Lean Methodology and Change Management/Implementation Science.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of a healthcare system that puts such an emphasis on quality and safety – something I’ve dedicated the bulk of my career to improving everywhere I’ve been,” Schmit said. “The Sussex County community is wonderful, and I’m happy to now call it home.”