Jenny Slayton, R.N., MSN, has been appointed to the newly created role of executive director of Quality Improvement for Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Reporting to Slayton in this new role will be the Vanderbilt Quality teams focused on quality improvement activities, accreditation and standards, education and dissemination of quality and safety training and infection prevention.
“The importance of quality and safety for our clinical enterprise cannot be overstated. Not only do our patients deserve the very best, increasingly we will be compensated on the ability to deliver health care services that achieve optimal outcomes,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, M.D., deputy vice chancellor for Health Affairs and CEO of the Vanderbilt Health System. “I want to welcome Jenny into this newly created role and have confidence in her ability to drive impact for these missions.”
Slayton’s responsibilities are broad in scope and will encompass both adult and pediatric clinical services. She will coordinate her work with Marilyn Dubree, MSN, R.N., Executive Chief Nursing Officer; Luke Gregory, CEO of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt; Gerald Hickson, M.D., assistant vice chancellor for Health Affairs and senior vice president for Quality, Safety and Risk Prevention; and David Posch, CEO of Vanderbilt University Hospital and Clinics.
“Jenny brings a combination of knowledge, experience and commitment to this new role that will serve Vanderbilt and our patients and families well,” Dubree said. “She has demonstrated success in leading teams to reach desirable outcomes that will keep our quality and patient safety initiatives in line with organizational goals. I welcome the opportunity to work with Jenny in this role and look forward to her success.”
Slayton joined Children’s Hospital in 1999 as a staff nurse in the Emergency Department and served as a charge nurse as well. In 2005, she joined the Performance Management and Improvement team as a quality consultant for Patient Safety. A short time later she was tapped to lead the Performance Measurement and Improvement Department as administrative director, where her main focus continued to involve directing the quality and safety programs in collaboration with senior leadership to ensure initiatives were aligned with organizational goals while assisting in the development of strategic quality and safety objectives.
On the national level, Slayton serves as a representative for Children’s Hospital on improvement opportunities of a collaborative nature with other children’s hospitals.
“Jenny has lots of energy, and she is focused on making medicine at Vanderbilt kind, safe and of the highest quality possible. Jenny has that wonderful ability to bring groups together to problem solve,” Hickson said.
Slayton holds a Master of Science in Nursing degree from Vanderbilt and a bachelor’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University.
— by Ruth Schimmel
