Meet our Team

OPQC Leadership

Jay Iams, MD Dr. Jay Iams is an Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He directs the OSU Wexner Medical Center’s Prematurity Clinics at McCampbell Hall and OSU East. In addition, he is the Principal Investigator at Ohio State for the NICHD Maternal Fetal Medicine and Nullipara Research Networks, and is the Obstetrical Lead for the Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative. He received his BA and MD degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Click to see his full bio. Jay Iams, MD Obstetrics Clinical Lead	Michele Walsh, MD, MSE Dr. Michele Walsh is a Professor of Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University, The William and Lois Briggs Endowed Chair in Neonatology, and Chief of the Division of Neonatology at UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital and University Hospitals Case Medical Center. She is privileged to lead the Neonatal Team of the Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative. She attended medical school at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Michele Walsh, MD, MSE Neonatology Clinical Lead	Carole Lannon, MD, MPH Dr. Carole M. Lannon is a professor of Pediatrics, the director of Learning Networks at the James M. Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Senior Quality Advisor to the American Board of Pediatrics. Dr. Lannon’s work focuses on assisting organizations in the design and implementation of collaborative efforts to measurably improve care and outcomes for children and families by sparking innovation and accelerating the translation of knowledge into practice. Dr. Lannon is the Improvement Lead for the Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative and the National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative. She has her MPH in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina and her MD from the University of Minnesota Medical School. Click to see her full bio. Carole Lannon, MD, MPH Collaborative Science Lead
Barbara L. Rose, MPH, RN Barbara Rose, while currently serving as the Project Grant Administrator at Hospice of Cincinnati, was the Program Director for the Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative (OPQC) from 2007 to 2012, a successful statewide perinatal improvement collaborative impacting Ohio’s 140,000 annual births. She continues to serve OPQC as a consultant on special projects, including the development of provider and patient materials, website content development, maintaining strategic partnerships, and OPQC public relations. She has a master's degree in public health from St. Louis University, plus 35 years of experience in the fields of nursing, public health, physician practice, program management and community based health improvement. Barb Rose, MPH, RN Program Advisor	Lakshmi Prasad, MPH Project Manager Lakshmi Prasad is the Project Manager for OPQC. She received her Master’s in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. At the Immigrant Health and Cancer Disparities Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), she previously coordinated the South Asian Health Initiative (SAHI) and the Taxi Network. With the goal of bridging health disparities and focusing on oral cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, Lakshmi's role at MSKCC centralized research, outreach, and service efforts of reducing cardiovascular disease and cancer among NYC-based South Asian and taxi driver communities. Previously, Lakshmi conducted field research in New Delhi, surveying rural and remote villages to determine social determinants impacting access to reproductive health in India's most disenfranchised communities. Lakshmi Prasad, MPH Project Manager	Karen Hughes, MPH Ms. Hughes is a Program Advisor for OPQC and consults with faculty and staff on the development of educational and communication materials, advancing strategic partnerships, and OPQC relations with state and national organizations. She previously served as the Ohio Title V Maternal and Child Health Director, and Chief of the Division of Family and Community Health Services at the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). While at ODH she had responsibilities for the administration and implementation of a wide variety of statewide programs (e.g., Infant Mortality/Prematurity Prevention, WIC, Early Intervention, Home Visiting, Vision and Hearing Programs, Oral Health, Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps, Genetics, Primary Care and Rural Health, School and Adolescent Health). Her prior professional experience includes serving as Interim Director of Health, Chief of the Bureau of Child and Family Health Services, as well as Assistant and Acting Chief of the Bureau of Oral Health Services at ODH. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from The Ohio State University, a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of Michigan, and over 38 years of state level public health experience. Karen Hughes, MPH Program Advisor

OPQC Faculty
Obstetric Project Clinicians	Neonatal Project Clinicians
Jennifer Bailit, MD, MPH Dr. Jennifer Bailit is the Executive Director of the Women and Children’s Patient Care Unit at MetroHealth, and an Associate Professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She attended medical school at Tufts School of Medicine, and received her MPH from the University of North Carolina. Jennifer Bailit, MD, MPH	Dan Benscoter, DO Dan Benscoter is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics within the Division of Pulmonary Medicine at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. He completed medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, residency at Janet Weis Children's Hospital and a fellowship in pulmonary medicine at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. He is the medical director of the pediatric home ventilator program and the Transitional Care Center, an inpatient unit specializing in the care of children dependent on ventilator support and transitioning children and families from hospital care to home care. In addition to working with the OPQC, he focuses on quality improvement work aiming to standardize terminology, equipment and management of children with chronic respiratory failure requiring home mechanical ventilation. Dan Benscoter, DO
Michael Krew, MD, MS Dr. Michael Krew is the associate director for the OBGYN residency at Aultman Hospital and is currently an obstetric consultant for the OPQC. He attended medical school at Northwestern University, and is currently working on his Master’s degree in Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety. Click to see his full bio. Michael Krew, MD, MS	Moira Crowley, MD Dr. Moira Crowley is the Co-Director of the Neonatal ECMO Program at UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, as well as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at CWRU School of medicine. She attended medical school at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Click to see full bio. Moira Crowley, MD
Michael Marcotte, MD Dr. Michael Marcotte is a maternal fetal medicine specialist working as the Director of Quality and Safety for Women’s Services at TriHealth. Sixty percent of his time is spent working on system wide efforts optimizing maternal and neonatal outcomes. The rest of his effort is directed towards internal, local, state and national efforts to improve infant survival and maternal health. He has been an obstetric expert working with OPQC since 2008 and a national expert for the March of Dimes since 2013. Dr. Marcotte received is MD at the University of Toledo Medical School, formerly called the Medical College of Ohio. Click to see his full bio. Michael Marcotte, MD	Heather Kaplan, MD, MSCE Dr. Heather C. Kaplan is an Attending Neonatologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and Assistant Professor with the University of Cincinnati Department of Pediatrics. Through her role in the Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative, she gained practical experience in the use of quality improvement methods to reduce preterm births and improve outcomes of preterm newborns in Ohio and have formed collaborative relationships with obstetrical and neonatal care providers across the state. She attended medical school at Northwestern University and her MSCE at the University of Pennsylvania. Click to see full bio. Heather Kaplan, MD, MSCE
Richard McClead, MD, MHA Dr. Richard E. McClead Jr. is Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Medical Director for Quality Improvement Services at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) in Columbus, Ohio. He received his medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and has his Master’s in Healthcare Administration. Richard McClead, MD, MHA	Mona Prasad, DO, MPH Dr. Mona Prasad completed her undergraduate years at University of Michigan, earning a BS in Biopsychology in 1994 and a Master’s degree in Public Health in Hospital and Molecular Epidemiology in 1997. Mona received her medical degree from Midwestern University-Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, and did her ObGyn residency and maternal fetal medicine fellowship at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, where she remains on the faculty. She is the Principal Investigator for the NICHHD MFMU Network Study of Hepatitis C in Pregnancy and is active in the clinical care of opiate dependent mothers as Medical Director of the STEPP Clinic at Ohio State and medical co-director for the central Ohio MOMS project. She has earned a national reputation in the arena of substance abuse in pregnancy, serving as Scientific Forum Chair for Substance Abuse and Toxicology for SMFM, 2016-2017. She recently joined the Maternal Fetal Medicine group at Trinity Health Systems in Columbus, practicing in the Mount Carmel hospitals. Mona and her husband, Matt Nawrocki, find their greatest joy in raising their young daughters, Nora and Neve. Click to see her full bio. Mona Prasad, DO, MPH
	Scott Wexelblatt, MD Dr. Scott Wexelblatt is an Assistant Professor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Perinatal Institute; University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. He is also the Medical Director of Regional Newborn Services. Dr. Wexelblatt attended medical school at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. Scott Wexelblatt, MD
	Kristin Voos, MD Kristin Voos holds a joint appointment as Associate Professor of Neonatology at Children’s Mercy Hospital-University of Missouri in Kansas City, Missouri and at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital-University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, OH. She completed her undergraduate studies at University of Nebraska, earning a BA in Psychology. She subsequently earned her MD at the University of Kansas Medical Center and completed her residency and fellowship at New York Presbyterian Hospital – Cornell in Pediatrics and Neonatology. Dr. Voos chairs an international committee on Patient and Family Centered Care through Academic Pediatric Association Special Interest Group. She has been presented with multiple teaching awards. Dr. Voos has published in the areas of Family-Centered Care and NICU protocols, and has special interest in Quality Improvement and clinician education. Kristin Voos, MD
	Leslie Clarke, RN, MS, MBA Leslie Clarke, RN, MS, MBA

OPQC QICS

Susan Ford, MSN

Susan Ford, RN, MSN Region: Cleveland, Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital

As a BEACON Quality Improvement Coordinator, Susan is currently leading the work on their Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Project for the OPQC. Susan is a Registered Nurse from the Cleveland area and has over 25 years' experience with a focus in maternal and child nursing. In 2010, she was a member of the Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital Quality Improvement Team, participating in the Solutions for Patient Safety, a statewide collaborative, focusing on improving patient outcomes.

Susan Ford, MSN

Andrea J. Hoberman, MPH

Andrea J. Hoberman, MPH Andrea Hoberman is a public health professional with expertise designing, implementing and evaluating regional health care performance improvement initiatives in New York, California and most recently Ohio. As a Quality Improvement Consultant for the Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative, Andrea supports hospitals in the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and NICU Graduates projects. Andrea received her MPH in Community Health Sciences from the University of California Los Angeles and her BA in Biology and Society from Cornell University. She is also a Certified Lactation Educator through the UCLA Extension Program.

Andrea J. Hoberman, MPH

Mary Ann Swank, MSN/ED, RNC-OB

Mary Ann Swank, MSN/ED, RNC-OB Region: Southwest Ohio, The Children's Medical Center of Dayton

Prior to taking the position as QI coordinator, Mary Ann served as Project Director for the Region II Perinatal Center Program Grant as well as a NICU/Perinatal Education Coordinator for over 20 years at Children's Medical Center of Dayton. Mary Ann's nursing background is in maternal child health with a certification as an inpatient obstetric nurse.

Mary Ann Swank, MSN/ED, RNC-OB

Beth White, MSN, CNS

Beth White is a pediatric clinical nurse specialist from Toledo Ohio. Beth's areas of clinical expertise include developmental pediatrics and maternal-child/pediatric palliative care. She is active in child and family related initiatives and boards of directors in northwest Ohio and serves on the Ohio Program Services Committee of the March of Dimes.

Beth White, MSN, CNS

Cathy Jaworski, MSN, RNBC

Cathy Jaworski, MSN, RNBC Cathy is a BEACON Quality Improvement Coordinator since 2011. She has gained her QI knowledge through QI training that has been guided by the QI experts at the Anderson Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. She has worked on The Pound of Cure and The Building Piece of Mind Collaborative. In May of 2015 she has started working the Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative - The Progesterone Collaborative.

Prior to Cathy’s work as a BEACON QIC, Cathy worked for 11 years as the Office Manager of the Promedica Toledo Children’s Ambulatory Care center and 17 years as a staff nurse at the Promedica Toledo Children’s hospital, in- patient unit. Cathy has graduated with several nursing degrees including her BSN from Lourdes University and her MSN in Education from Walden University. She is certified by the American Academy of Credentialed Nurses in Pediatric Nursing since 1995.

Cathy lives in Toledo, Ohio. Home of the Mud Hens baseball team, The Walleye Hockey team, Tony Packo’s hotdogs, Libbey glass and The Jeep Wrangler and Liberty.

Cathy Jaworski, MSN, RNBC

Emily Shears, BSChE-CSSBB

Emily Shears, BSChe-CSSBB Emily is a Quality Improvement Consultant with the Anderson Center at Cincinnati Children’s hospital. Prior to Emily’s work at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Emily spent over 10 years working in the Food and Beverage industry. Emily has significant experience in operations, technical abilities, coaching, and adaptive skills from her time in manufacturing environments. Emily is looking forward to bringing her skill set and background to the OPQC team with a focus on the Progesterone project. Emily holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering with a Minor in Business from The Ohio State University. Emily passed the CSSBB exam in October 2014 and is an American Society of Quality Certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

Emily Shears, BSChE-CSSBB

OPQC Central
Project Management	Data Team
Melissa Page, MPH Project Senior Specialist Missy holds a MPH in Maternal and Child Health and has over 15 years of project management experience in public health and higher education. Her primary role is as Senior Specialist managing Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) project efforts. Melissa Page, MPH	Justin Bates, MA SAS Programmer Justin holds a MA in Experimental Psychology and has been involved in applied research for over 10 years. Justin is a SAS Certified Base Programmer for SAS 9. He is currently supporting OPQC NAS and OPQC Progesterone. Justin Bates, MA
Jalea Stowers-Grimes, BBA Project Senior Specialist Jalea holds a BBA in Marketing and Management. She has over four years of experience in operations management, along with over 12 years in managing research projects of varying complexity and scope across multiple industries. Her primary role is Senior Specialist managing Progesterone project efforts.. Jalea Stowers-Grimes, BBA	John Besl, MA Analyst-Demographer, Community and Population Health John has served as data analyst for OPQC since its inception in 2008, providing data processing and charting support for both the 39-Week and ANCS projects. He has more than 20 years of experience in population health and applied demography, building on the MA degree in Sociology. John Besl, MA
Stephanie Buckler, AAS Project Specialist Stephanie holds an AAS in Applied Science and is working on her BA in Legal Studies. Her primary role is specialist on the Progesterone project efforts. Stephanie Buckler, AAS	Jessi Poteet, BS Data Assistant Jessi holds a BS in Mathematics and Statistics. She has been a SAS programmer on the data team for OPQC since 2013 and is involved in both the obstetrics and neonatology projects within OPQC. Jessi is a member of the Society for Clinical Data Management. Jessi Poteet, BS
Cole Jackson, MS Project Specialist Cole holds a Masters in Executive Leadership and Organizational Change from Northern Kentucky University. He works on the daily operations for the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) project for OPQC. Cole Jackson, MS	Pierce Kuhnell, MS SAS Programmer Pierce holds a MS in Biostatistics and has been involved in data management and applied research for almost five years. He is currently doing database programming work for both OPQC NAS and OPQC Progesterone. Pierce Kuhnell, MS
Lindsey Hoberg, MHA, CPM Project Senior Specialist Missy holds a MPH in Maternal and Child Health and has over 15 years of project management experience in public health and higher education. Her primary role is as Senior Specialist managing Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) project efforts. Lindsey Hoberg, MHA, CPM	Jennifer Collins, MPH Data Manager Jennifer Collins holds a Masters of Public Health with a focus in reproductive epidemiology. She has experience in project management, study design, statistical analysis, grant writing, abstract and manuscript preparation, and data management. Her primary role is project management for the Data Team’s s efforts across all OPQC projects. Jennifer Collins, MPH
Michelle Walters, BA Project Coordinator Michelle holds a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership from NKU. Her primary role is the coordination of project efforts for the Progesterone team. Michelle Walters, BA	Emily Louden, MPH Data Management Coordinator Emily holds a Master of Public Health from Indiana University and has more than 10 years of experience in clinical research. She is currently supporting data management for OPQC NAS. Emily Louden, MPH
	Kristen Finken, BA Systems Analyst Kristen attended The Ohio State University, where she received a BA in Social and Behavioral Sciences. She is currently a Systems Analyst for the Biomedical Department at Cincinnati Children’s Medical Hospital where she contributes project management tasks and analysis to other Learning Networks, but her primary role is project management for BMI’s efforts across all OPQC projects. Kristen Finken, BA