Cessa Heinzmann – Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement

Reducing Unproductive Visits for Thyroid Cancer Patients – Kaniksha Desai

The Problem:Patients with thyroid cancer were often arriving for their follow up visits without necessary labs or imaging leading to an unproductive visit. This information would need to be reviewed at a later time asynchronously with the patient, leading to delays in treatment and inefficient workflow. As we sought to understand the different causes of this problem, we prioritized having a […]

Reducing Cost to Patients With the Use of Tracheostomy Durable Medical Equipment – Kristi Norris

For our team’s CELT project, we had to implement the use of a new product and process within a multi-disciplinary team. It was an interesting experience navigating the wide variety of stakeholders, their needs, and the process nuances. Learn how we did it successfully!

Cut to the Chase! – Jake Mickelsen

Cut to the Chase! I am sure we have all heard this phrase when someone is asking us to get to the point. Although it can feel pushy and somewhat disrespectful at times, is it valid? Especially when presenting improvement work? The saying originated from silent films and was thought to be coined by American […]

Alice R. Georgitso, MPH, joins the SMCI Advisory Committee as our first Patient Partner. Alice has served as a Patient Partner with the Stanford Health Care (SHC) Patient & Family Partner Program for over 4 years and was appointed Chairperson of the Adult Congenital Heart Program Patient & Family Advisory Council in January 2020. She assisted in developing the Stanford Adult Congenital Heart Program’s Peer-to-Peer Program and serves as a Mentor to ACHD patients pre-and-post-organ transplantation. Alice has presented Stanford Health Care’s C-I-CARE framework for structuring best practice communications and developing relationship-based care approaches with patients and colleagues to 500+ Stanford Medicine Directors, Managers and Clinical Staff.

Alice is a Patient Relations Manager at Stanford Health Care. Within her role, she provides a channel for problem resolution to promote the highest quality of care and service excellence. Alice has also worked as an Unrelated Donor Search Coordinator with the Blood & Marrow Transplant at Stanford Health Care to coordinate allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants through collaborative planning and partnership with the National Marrow Donor Program and SHC clinicians. Prior to her work with SHC, she was the Community Service Foundation Director at San Mateo County Medical Association where she partnered with local stakeholders and clinicians to expand county-wide community health programs to diverse populations. She has also delivered invaluable community health services through her work with the American Heart Association.

Alice earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Biology at Saint Bonaventure University in Olean, NY and her Master of Public Health from SUNY Buffalo in Buffalo, NY. Alice is a member of The Beryl Institute and Adult Congenital Heart Association professional associations, Donor Network West partner advocating for organ, eye, tissue, and blood donation, and remains an active volunteer with SHC. Alice continues to promote patient-and-family-centered care in both hospital and community settings to support precision health and improve the healthcare experience for patients, families, and clinicians.