Practice and Policy in a Pandemic: Accreditation, Regulations, Future Implications

Elisa Arespacochaga is vice president of the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Physician Alliance, a strategic initiative launched as part of the AHA’s ongoing mission to improve the health of patients and communities. Framed around three fundamental beliefs that foster shared decision-making and a create a path for common language among health care leadership, the Alliance advances physician leadership through the educational offerings, professional development opportunities and greater inclusion within hospital and health system administration and policy activities. She received her master’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Health Care Policy from Keller Graduate School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in biology and Spanish literature from Amherst College.

Darla Spence Coffey is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). CSWE is the national association for social work education, representing over 800 accredited undergraduate and graduate programs of professional social work. Through its programs and initiatives, CSWE promotes emerging technologies, interprofessional education, and innovative models, pedagogies, and practices to advance social work education. As the voice of social work education, CSWE works to strengthen the position of social work within higher education, the national political environment, and in the perceptions of the general public. Coffey received her BSW from Eastern College, her MSW from the University of Pennsylvania, and her PhD from Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research. She has an extensive background in social work practice in the areas of mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence. More recently, Coffey has been advancing the causes of provider well-being and leadership in presentations and writings. Coffey is a Distinguished Fellow in the National Academies of Practice and is the 2017 recipient of the Advocate for Human Rights Award by the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.

Sheryl Cosme is the Director of the Practice Transition Accreditation Program® (PTAP) and Nursing Skills Competency Program (NSCP) at the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). She is involved in setting national accreditation standards for nurse residency and nurse practitioner fellowships. She has presented at several national and international conferences on the need to have residency and fellowships for nurses entering or transitioning within practice settings. Sheryl is also very interested in the knowledge, skill, and attitude acquisition of undergraduate nursing students related to evidence-based practice.

Sheryl is a member of the American Nurses Association, Association of Nursing Professional Development and Sigma Theta Tau International.

Her previous roles include serving as clinical faculty at Georgetown University in their undergraduate nursing program and as a clinical educator at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital where she was the coordinator of a nursing residency program for eight years. As a clinical nurse she worked at St. Francis Hospital in Connecticut in the operating room and at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC on the surgical specialty unit.

Sheryl earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Master’s in Nursing Education at the University of Hartford, and Bachelors in Nursing for the University of New Hampshire. She is board certified in Nursing Professional Development.

Janet A. Silvester, PharmD, MBA, FASHP, is Vice President of the Accreditation Services Office and is responsible for providing strategic direction for all American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) accreditation programs and services for pharmacy post-graduate residency and pharmacy technician education and training programs.

Janet holds a BS in Pharmacy from the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, a Pharm.D. from Creighton University and a Masters in Business from James Madison University. Janet spent 34 years in hospital practice and was Director of Pharmacy and Emergency services at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, VA prior to coming to ASHP in 2013.

Janet is past president of the Virginia Society of Health System Pharmacists, and Past president of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. She is past recipient of the Virginia Health System Pharmacist of the Year award, the RD Anderson Distinguished Leadership award, and the Pharmacy Alumnus Service award from the Medical College of Virginia Alumni Association of Virginia Commonwealth University. Janet is also the recipient of the 2012 American Society of Health System Pharmacists Award for Distinguished Leadership in Health System Pharmacy Practice.

Dr. Kevin Weiss is the Chief Sponsoring Institutions and Clinical Learning Environments Officer at the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). He oversees Sponsoring Institutions (SI) and the Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER), including serving as Co-Chair for the CLER Evaluation Committee (CEC). Dr. Weiss came to the ACGME from the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), where from 2007 to 2012 he served as President and CEO. Under Dr. Weiss’ leadership, ABMS-International was established, with its first international collaboration in Singapore.

Dr. Weiss has devoted his medical career to issues of health care quality, equity and access to care, and enhancing training experiences for physicians and other providers in health care improvement. Since the 1990s, Dr. Weiss has conducted US and international epidemiological and health services research projects related to guideline implementation, chronic care management, outcomes measurement, quality improvement, and health care equity.

Dr. Weiss served as a member of the Board of Regents for the American College of Physicians, and as a member of the Board of Directors for both ABMS and the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. Dr. Weiss completed his clinical training in internal medicine at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. He has a Master’s degree in public health from the University of Illinois School of Public Health and a Master’s degree in health services administration from Harvard University School of Public Health.

He completed his post-doctoral fellowship in epidemiology at the Centers for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics. Dr. Weiss is certified in internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). He also serves as a Professor of Medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.

Morgan Passiment serves as the Director of Institutional Outreach and Collaboration at the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). She cultivates opportunities for health care and education leaders to improve and enhance their clinical learning environment and prepares them to serve as national leaders of health care innovation. She is also responsible for the operations and strategic management of the National Collaborative to Improve the Clinical Learning Environment (NCICLE). Her primary emphasis has been on building communities of learning, strategic planning, health policy and organizational effectiveness. Ms. Passiment has directed a wide variety of successful leadership activities and groups that provide hospitals and health systems with resources to meet the challenges of a diverse health care environment.