National Leadership
Stratis Health team members are sought after as thought leaders in health improvement. Our wide-ranging expertise, purpose-driven attitude, and collaborative and strategic approaches to health improvement have earned us leadership roles on the nation’s health care improvement platform. We are frequently:
- Invited as experts for prestigious national panels and committees
- Featured as speakers at national conferences
- Published as authors in peer-reviewed literature
- Selected as participants in national fellowship programs
Additionally, more than half of our health improvement initiatives portfolio comprises projects and efforts delivered across the country, contributing to our comprehensive national health improvement expertise and perspective.
National Leadership Roles (current and recent)
Technical expert panels and committees:
- Sophia Brasil
- Serving on a a national Technical Expert Panel for the Excess Days in Acute Care (EDAC) measures.
- Sarah Brinkman:
- Serving as the Chair of the Emerging Leader Council and on the Board of Directors for Civitas Networks for Health.
- Selected to join the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) Health Equity Council since 2021.
- Jennifer Lundblad:
- Serves as a member of the RUPRI (Rural Policy Research Institute) Health Panel, established in 1993 to provide science-based, objective rural health policy analysis to federal policymakers.
- Jane Pederson:
- Serves on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Digital Healthcare Research Strategic Plan TEP.
- Serves on the System of Quality Assurance Committee of the Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition.
- Janelle Shearer:
- Serves on the Partnership for Quality Measurement Geriatrics and Palliative Care Standing Committee, which oversees the geriatric, palliative, and end-of-life care measures portfolio.
National conference presentations:
- Sarah Brinkman
- Presenting at the 2024 National Rural Health Association Annual Conference (May 2024)
- Presenting on the Recourse for Rural Health Equity (with Carrie Howard)
- National CAH Quality Inventory and Assessment: Pilot Results (with our partners from the Flex Monitoring Team)
- Presented at the 2023 National Rural Health Association Critical Access Hospital conference – The Core Elements of Critical Access Hospital Quality Infrastructure (September 2023 – with partners at the Flex Monitoring Team and the National Rural Health Resource Center)
- Presented at the 2023 Civitas Networks for Health Conference – Mentorship Matters: Empowering Innovation and Impact (August 2023 – with a member of the Civitas staff)
- Presenting at the 2024 National Rural Health Association Annual Conference (May 2024)
- Karla Weng:
- Presented “Palliative Care Challenges and Solutions in Rural Communities” at the 2023 National Rural Health Association Conference.
- Presented “Strategies to Support the Readiness of Rural Health Clinics for Value-Based Care” at the 2023 National Rural Health Association Conference.
- Marilyn Reierson:
- Co-presented “Harm Reduction in Indian Country: PATH & IHS HOPE Align” at the 2023 CMS Quality Conference, Building Resilient Communities as part of the Pathway to Advance Tribal Health (PATH) team.
- Jennifer Lundblad:
- Presented at the 2023 NAACOS (National Association of ACOs) national conference in Baltimore, MD as part of a panel session “Exploring Innovations, Opportunities and Challenges in Rural Health and the Impact on Value-Based Care” representing our Rural Health Value team.
- Serves as a faculty preceptor to teach the Quality module of NRHA’s Certification Program for CEOs, CFOs, and CNOs Certification programs.
- Presented “Co-Creating a Shared Approach for Social Needs Resource Referrals in Minnesota” for the Civitas Networks for Health 2022 Annual Conference.
Recent Peer-reviewed literature:
- Interprofessional Roles and Collaborations to Address COVID-19 Pandemic Challenges in Nursing Homes, Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies, June 2022, 9(1), Article 7, doi:10.24926/ijps.v9i1.4644
- Developing Successful Palliative Care Teams in Rural Communities: A Facilitated Process, Journal of Palliative Medicine, published online ahead of print, November 2021 (print published May 2022)
- Avoiding Antipsychotic Medication Use in Nursing Home Residents with Dementia, American Nurse Journal, March 2020, Volume 15, Number 3
Quality Update:
- Stratis Health publishes the Quality Update Newsletter twice a year. The electronic publication is an update on health care quality topics and issues for health care leaders. In this publication, we aim to provide thought leaders with news, issues, and perspectives on health care quality and patient safety.
National fellowship program participation:
- Carrie Howard (2024): Carrie Howard, Stratis Health program manager, was selected for the National Rural Health Association’s Rural Health Fellows Program of 2024. This is a year-long, intensive program that develops leaders who can articulate a clear and compelling vision for rural America. Previous fellows: Sarah Brinkman (2020) and Karla Weng (2008).
- Alona Jarmin (2022): Alona Jarmin, Stratis Health program manager, has been selected as a Next Generation Leadership Fellow 2021-2022 with the American Hospital Association Center for Health Innovation. This fellowship is a unique opportunity to be paired with an executive-level mentor who guides the planning and execution of a year-long hospital or health system transformation project, tackling key issues affecting health care affordability, cost, quality, and safety.
- Jane Pederson fellowship (2018-2019): Jane C. Pederson, Stratis Health’s chief medical quality officer, was selected as a fellow for the national Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program. The goal of the Fellows Program is to provide professionals in health and aging with the experience and skills necessary to help lead and shape a healthy and productive future for older Americans, through the translation of cutting-edge science and practical clinical experience into sound health policy.