ICU Morbidity Team

Funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the ICU Morbidity Clinical Impact Interest Group (CIIG) addresses two significant, preventable, interconnected causes of morbidity and mortality in ICUs today: delirium and muscle weakness. [Read more.]

 

 

Kathleen Carrothers, MPH, CPHQ Improvement Advisor kcarrothers@cynosurehealth.org	Ms. Carrothers is an Improvement Advisor with Cynosure Health with primary responsibility for the Bay Area ICU Morbidity Clinical Impact Interest Group working to reduce ICU-acquired delirium and muscle weakness in Bay Area hospitals.  Ms. Carrothers has expertise in performance improvement, patient safety, clinical outcomes, statistical analysis and evaluation research.  As an Improvement Advisor for BEACON, the Bay Area Patient Safety Collaborative, she worked with 39 hospitals providing leadership, direction, and guidance on performance improvement activities, enabling networking and sharing of information across organizations and facilitating interactive performance improvement educational activities.  Ms. Carrothers was the Patient Safety Officer and Director of Clinical Outcomes at ValleyCare Health System, where she utilized her data and analytical skills to drive patient safety and quality improvements.  She has served as a national Baldrige Examiner for four years. Ms. Carrothers earned her Bachelor’s degree from Stanford and her Master's Degree in Public Health from MCP/Hahnemann and is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ).
Bruce Spurlock, MD Executive Director bspurlock@cynosurehealth.org	Dr. Spurlock is the Executive Director of Cynosure Health.  He works with physicians and healthcare executives to create state-of-the-art clinical and operational management systems. Dr. Spurlock is Chair of the CHART Board, a groundbreaking initiative of hospitals, purchasers, health plans and consumer groups to produce a voluntary hospital performance report in California.  He also leads large quality collaboratives in California, Washington and Florida designed to accelerate the implementation of evidence-based practices.  Currently, he is an Adjunct Associate Professor with Stanford University.  He is a nationally known speaker on health care topics ranging from health care trends to redesigning specific operational units. Prior to his consultant work, Dr. Spurlock was the executive vice president for the California Healthcare Association (CHA) where he served as CHA’s expert in physician group relations, health policy, and quality and performance measurement. He also practiced internal medicine as a senior physician with The Permanente Medical Group, Inc., for ten years, where he led patient education services and developed shared decision-making tools, clinical pathways and guidelines, RN advice center protocols and easy access ambulatory services.  During his clinical career Dr. Spurlock was an Assistant Clinical Professor for the University of California, Davis and participated on the American Hospital Association’s Quality Leadership Team.  In 1997 he was appointed by California Governor Wilson to the Managed Health Care Improvement Task Force, is published in local, state and national journals and has served as a trustee on the California Medical Association’s Board of Trustees.
Pat Teske, RN, MHA Improvement Advisor pteske@cynosurehealth.org	Ms. Teske is an Improvement Advisor with Cynosure Health.  She specializes in quality improvement, patient safety, licensure and accreditation for hospitals, health systems and regional collaboratives.  As an independent contractor she supported BEACON, the Bay Area Patient Safety Collaborative, as well as other state and local collaboratives.  In addition, she has facilitated preparation for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Joint Commission surveys, developed policies and plans, as well as implemented systems and databases.  Ms. Teske is a requested public speaker at state and local conferences and has developed and offered numerous educational programs.  Prior to working as a consultant, Ms. Teske served as vice president of Quality Improvement and Care Management for Catholic Healthcare West, Pasadena.  Before that she held senior level positions at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, Northridge, and Thompson Memorial Medical Center, Burbank. She earned her Master’s in Health Administration from the University of La Verne, and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.  She is a former Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) and a Certified Medical Staff Coordinator (CMSC).