Clinical
Robert A. Chase, MD, MS, FACP
Vice President of Clinical Quality
Dr. Chase serves as Vice President for Clinical Quality in The Sibery Group, LLC (TSG). He is a physician who specializes in the application of infectious disease and clinical epidemiology to hospital infection control and regulatory agency compliance. He also applies the science of evidenced-based medicine and decision-making and concepts of population health to the real-time settings of hospitals.
Dr. Chase is an expert in the design and implementation of healthcare quality systems. Major projects accomplished in his role with The Sibery Group include redesigning and implementing quality systems and processes as a part of the overall quality turnaround of an inner city hospital. Dr. Chase has also served an active role in working with healthcare organizations to design and implement organizational dashboard systems and assisted with the design of micro-system based performance improvement initiatives.
Prior to joining The Sibery Group, Dr. Chase served as the Vice President and Chief Science Officer in a suburban health system, where he developed a 65-member department of health and care management services housing infection control, risk management, safety, quality, regulatory compliance oversight, and utilization review. His department also supported the development of a post 9/11 incident command disaster management program.
Dr. Chase regularly provides instruction for board members, community members and hospital staff on the nuances of quality, patient safety, regulatory compliance, infection control and population health. His staff deploys to assist staff with their departments’ process improvement efforts, root cause analysis inquiries, Healthcare Failure Modes Effects Analyses, regulatory and accreditation readiness, risk management issues, peer review concerns and quality education.
Dr. Chase holds a Master of Science, Population Health and Administrative Medicine from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. His Doctor of Medicine Degree is from Rush Medical College in Chicago and his Bachelor of Science is from the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois. Before becoming a physician executive he was in an infectious disease practice.
Dr. Chase’s papers have been published in journals such as JAMA, The New England Journal of Medicine, and The Journal of Medical Virology. He also has authored text materials on hospital epidemiology topics.
Karen M. Boland, RN, CIC
Senior Consultant/Clinical Quality
Karen Boland, RN, is a Senior Associate in Clinical Quality for The Sibery Group, LLC (TSG). She serves as the senior consultant in coordinating hospital’s efforts for successful surveys by regulatory and accredi tation agencies such as the Joint Commission, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP) and state level health departments.
Karen has recently served as Director of Quality for two separate inner city hospitals. She has overseen Utilization Review, Core Measures and Patient Safety programs in addition to facilitating quality and process improvement initiatives. She played a key role in implementing the quality turnaround for one of the hospitals that was being threatened with decertification by CMS.
Prior to working with The Sibery Group, Karen was the manager of infection control and regulatory compli ance at Central DuPage Hospital (381 licensed beds). She was responsible for effectively communicating with all employees and caregivers in order to attain cooperation and participation in compliance activities. She is a team builder.
Karen oversaw or conducted support studies required by regulators, including data collection, analysis and presentation of clinical findings. She collaborated with clinical and ancillary departments to provide education and develop policies. Karen has also monitored compliance during a very large and complicated construction project.
Karen is certified in infection control and has been a nurse for over 30 years. She is a graduate of the Rockford Memorial Hospital School of Nursing and is a member of the Association for Practitioners in Infection Control.
Jody K. Bierzychudek, RN, MPH, CPHQ
Senior Consultant/Clinical Quality
Jody Bierzychudek, RN, joined The Sibery Group, LLC (TSG) in May 2007 and brings experience in quality and regulatory accreditation. She has organized, coordinated, and supported personnel in all aspects of regulatory readiness; providing hospital-wide leadership in continuum of compliance with the Joint Commission, IDPH and CMS standards.
Jody has overseen patient safety initiatives to include education and training on the National Patient Safety Goals, facilitating Root Cause Analysis, Health Care Failure Modes & Effects Analysis, Core Measure Teams, Physician Peer Review and other quality and process improvements initiatives. She has experience as a Utilization Review Nurse and Discharge Planner. Jody has over 24 years of nursing experience including staff positions on Medical/Surgical, Orthopedic, Neonatal Intensive Care and Mother/Baby Units.
Prior to joining The Sibery Group, Jody was the Quality Assurance Manager for Illinois Health Connect, which implemented a Primary Care Case Management Program for Medicaid recipients. She was instrumental in developing the quality plan and establishing quality indicators to monitor care. The majority of her nursing experience has been in hospitals. Most recently at Central DuPage Hospital (381 licensed beds), where she served as the Patient Safety and Regulatory Accreditation Coordinator.
Jody is a retired Lieutenant Colonel, US Army Reserve with over 24 years of military leadership and management experience. She earned a Masters in Public Health with a specialization in Health Services Management from Northern Illinois University in 2008 as well as a graduate certificate in Homeland Security. Jody is a Certified Professional in Health Care Quality.
Airica Steed, RN, MBA
Quality/Operations Consultant
Mrs. Airica Steed, RN, BSN, MBA is a consultant with The Sibery Group, LLC. She has over 10 years of healthcare industry experience with a solid combination of nursing, healthcare administration/operations, and consulting background. She is a Professional Registered Nurse with a primary clinical focus on Critical Care, Emergency, Hospice, Home Health, and Medical/Surgical nursing. Her healthcare experience includes process/operations improvement, strategic planning, performance enhancement, quality improvement, executive leadership, software deployment & project management, training management, and clinical software application development.
Airica specializes in transforming healthcare organizations by bridging the gap between people, process, knowledge, and technology. Her experience includes working with large healthcare organizations, academic medical centers, community hospitals, Level I Trauma Centers, ambulatory facilities, software vendors, national hospice organizations, and Long Term Acute Care (LTAC) facilities. She prides herself on conducting very thorough operational assessments and providing rapid implementation strategies that will provide proven, sustained, and breakthrough results.
Airica is an experienced process improvement expert utilizing various methodologies including a holistic approach using Lean, Six Sigma, and Change Acceleration Process (CAP). Some key outcomes under her direction includes but is not limited to Emergency Department turnovers including greater than 50% reduction in average ED length of stay, reduction in patient walkout rates less than the national benchmark of 2.0%, and significant increases in patient satisfaction indicators through a patient centric approach. implementation of Lab Point of Service Testing to generate greater than 80% turnaround time reduction, capacity/demand maximization enhancements to Diagnostic Imaging and Ambulatory Service lines which have generated greater than 20% year-end to year-end growth, clinical nursing improvements contributing to significant reductions in cost per adjusted discharge, million dollar return on investments through significant revenue enhancement and cost reduction strategies.
Airica has contributed to book chapters and articles and has been an active presenter in the industry. She has a BSN in Nursing from the Rush University and a Masters in Business Administration from Governors State University. In addition, she is actively pursuing a Doctorate in Ethical Leadership from Olivet Nazarene University in which her primary emphasis is on the transformation of healthcare utilizing management engineering principles combined with accountable leadership.