Working to facilitate patient safety culture, processes and results currently in more than 185 health care organizations, Kimberly combines her knowledge and experience leading operations in three integrated healthcare delivery systems and the health facility regulatory division at the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. In these roles, she oversaw and directed patient safety, risk management, performance improvement and health care regulatory compliance programs, and developed expertise leading adverse event investigations, root cause analyses, and safety improvement teams.
Kimberly O’Brien, MHA, Director of Program Development, is passionate about patient safety in her role with the Missouri Center for Patient Safety, MOCPS.
An expert in Patient Safety Organization (PSO) implementation for hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers, Kimberly’s years of operational insight complement the direction and guidance she provides to health care facilities as they maximize the benefits of tailoring the MOCPS PSO to their current operations and customizing their Patient Safety Evaluation System, PSES.
Kimberly is the creative mind and director of a significant portion of MOCPS’s People, Priorities & Learning Together (PPLT) initiative, which brings evidence-based programs and practices to providers working with MOCPS to improve patient safety and quality of care.
To date, the PPLT initiative includes four modules: The Basics of CUSP (Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program), CUSP Communication & Teamwork Tools, and two clinical collaboratives to eliminate Central-line Associated Blood Stream Infections (CLABSIs) and Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTIs). The PPLT initiative also offers training in Crucial Conversations, TeamSTEPPS™, and Just Culture, as well as services for providers to conduct AHRQ’s Survey on Patient Safety electronically. Kimberly designed PPLT to offer options so individual providers can select components of the initiative that fit their unique needs for quality, safety efforts and value.
Kimberly is a graduate of Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and holds a Master’s in Health Administration with honors from the University of Missouri, in Columbia. She has presented on a variety of patient safety topics, including the Patient Safety Quality Improvement Act, PSO Implementation, CUSP, Crucial Conversations, Conducting Patient Safety Event Investigations and Root Cause Analyses. In addition, she is certified to teach Crucial Conversations.
