The Joint Commission announces the appointment of Raji Thomas, DNP, MBA, CPHQ, CPPS, to director of the Office of Quality and Patient Safety (OQPS). Reporting to Patient Safety Officer and Medical Director Edward Pollak, MD, FASA, Thomas will oversee OQPS, which reviews and responds to reports of patient safety events at accredited and certified healthcare organizations.
As director, Thomas will advance strategy and operations of the Division of Healthcare Improvement through collaboration and partnerships with internal and external customers. Moreover, she has more than 20 years of experience in strategic healthcare quality improvement, patient safety leadership, and nursing.

“Raji has been instrumental to the success of a high-functioning patient safety program, and we anticipate her making a similar impact at The Joint Commission,” Pollack says.

Thomas most recently served as director of Patient Safety and Performance Improvement at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, where she helped create the Patient Safety and Performance Improvement Department and developed and implemented its programs. She also provided guidance to hospital and ambulatory services to ensure compliance with Joint Commission accreditation standards.

Prior to Rush University Medical Center, Thomas was a senior RN patient safety consultant at Advocate Health Care in Downers Grove, Illinois, a quality improvement specialist at Barnes Jewish Hospital at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, and a nursing faculty member at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois.