| Cynthia Whitaker, RN Traverse City, Mich. Years of Presidency: 1997-1998 |
Susan Ohr, RN-BC, MS, BSN Pittsburgh, Pa. |
Past-President Cynthia Whitaker and fellow URAC employee Susan Ohr Talk about the Importance of Accreditation
“Having an accreditation in healthcare is like having a good housekeeping stamp of approval — it shows that there’s some value to the services that your organization provides. . . . Potential customers are looking for some evidence that they’re providing quality services to members or employees of their organization.”
Introduction:
Cynthia Whitaker is a Registered Nurse who owned and operated a case management company that specialized in workers’ compensation for more than 10 years. During that time, she was one of several founders of the Northern California Chapter of CMSA and became its first President. She served from 1995-99 on the CMSA’s national Board of Directors, as Secretary and later as Years of Presidency: 1997-98. In 1999, Cynthia sold her case management business and retired with her husband to the beach in Costa Rica. After two years, Cynthia realized that retirement did not agree with her, so she returned to work as a healthcare consultant and in 2007 accepted a position with URAC as an Accreditation Reviewer.
On the personal side, Cynthia enjoys spending time with her husband Buzz and the frequent visits from their daughters.
Introduction for Susan Ohr:
Susan Ohr is an accreditation reviewer for URAC. Sue’s experience includes her role in medical-surgical nursing, as a director of a homecare agency, a heart failure case manager and director of a utilization management and case management program for a large HMO. She presently conducts utilization management, case management, health call center and IRO reviews for URAC.
On the personal side, when she is not traveling, Sue enjoys spending time at home with her family. For those who know her, the joy of her life is her grandson.
Leadership Interview: Cynthia is joined by Susan Ohr in a conversation surrounding the role of quality improvement activities in today’s healthcare system. As Accreditation Reviewers, they share information that helps those in practice understand their role in the system. They share how, through recognizing variances in practice, quality improvement projects can be developed to improve the practice and care provided to patients regardless of the access point.
To learn more about Best Practices in Case Management, check out the upcoming URAC conference Best Practice in Consumer Empowerment and Protection that will be held March 25-26, 2008 in Orlando, Fla.
To learn more about URAC, Accreditation and Educational Opportunities go to www.urac.org.
Download and listen to the interview
[6 MB WAV File]
