06 May KEYNOTE: UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PLANS
OPWDD leaders from the Division of Quality Improvement will discuss essentials and best practices in the design and implementation of Quality Improvement Plans. This session will include practical tips for putting your QI plan into practice and the use of various tools and strategies to drive impactful quality improvement projects to enhance service quality and individual satisfaction and outcomes creating an organizational culture of quality.
Click HERE for the presentation.
Presenters
Karisa Capone, Director of Continuous Quality Improvement, NYS OPWDD
Ms. Capone is back at the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) as Director of the Division of Quality Improvement (DQI) Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) after a year-long stint as the Bureau Director for the Center for Aging and Long-Term Care Regulatory and Policy Initiatives at the New York State Department of Health (DOH). Prior to that, Ms. Capone spent 18 years at OPWDD in various positions including Director, DQI, Incident Management Unit (IMU); Standards Compliance Analyst 2, DQI, Continuous Quality Improvement Unit; Standards Compliance Analyst 2, Office of Counsel; Program Operations Specialist 2, Division of Person-Centered Supports; and Standards Compliance Analyst 1, DQI, Bureau of Program Certification and Bureau of Program Support.
In her current role, Ms. Capone provides leadership and direction to the CQI Unit on a day-to-day basis, including oversight of critical functions to support DQI and OPWDD in the implementation of the agency’s quality strategy. She also coordinates the development and implementation of quality improvement plans to improve system-wide performance in compliance with OPWDD requirements.
Ms. Capone holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y. and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Maryellen Moeser, Deputy Director for Quality Improvement Strategies, NYS OPWDD
Maryellen Moeser has served as Deputy Director for Quality Improvement Strategies in OPWDD’s Division of Quality Improvement. Prior to rejoining Division of Quality Improvement, Ms. Moeser was instrumental in establishing and staffing the new Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI) for OPWDD as Interim Director and spent more than twenty years serving OPWDD in a variety of key policy, program, and quality related positions including serving as Director of the Home and Community Based Services Waiver/MSC Practice Development, Director of Home and Community Living, as DQI’s Director of Continuous Quality Improvement, and a manager in the Bureau of Compliance Management.
Ms. Moeser began her NYS career in 2000 as a Budget Examiner/Senior Budget Examiner for the NYS Division of the Budget. Prior to NYS employment, Ms. Moeser spent more than eight years in not-for-profit human service organizations providing direct services and program management (including the provision of direct care to people with developmental disabilities) and overseeing key administrative functions.
Ms. Moeser is a graduate of Marist College with a Master of Public Administration Degree, earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology through SUNY, and a management development studies certificate from Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
Brian O’Donnell, Statewide Director of the Bureau of Program Certification (BPC), NYS OPWDD
Mr. O’Donnell serves as the Statewide Director in OPWDD’s Division of Quality Improvement (DQI), a position he has held for more than a decade. As a member of the DQI leadership, he plays an integral role in the development of policies and the oversight of regulatory compliance.
Mr. O’Donnell oversees more than 150 survey staff who perform inspections of both state and provider operated facilities and programs as well as HCBS Waiver services including Community Habilitation, pre-Vocation, Supported Employment, and Respite services. He also serves as the chairperson of the inter-agency committee that sets policy on fire safety reviews and the development and interpretation of the fire safety/life safety code regulations.
Mr. O’Donnell holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from Siena College in Loudonville, NY.
Ellie Smith, Statewide Director of Continuous Quality Improvement, NYS OPWDD
Ms. Smith has been an integral part of OPWDD’s Division of Quality Improvement (DQI) for the past 17 years, working her way up in the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) unit and Bureau of Program Certification from a Standards Compliance Analyst 1 to her current position as the Statewide Director of CQI and the newly formed Quality Strategies Project Management Unit. She provides leadership and direction to the CQI and Project Management Unit, assists DQI in the development and refinement of systems and processes in the areas such as provider stability, HCBS settings and dispute resolution.
Ms. Smith serves on the Statewide Committee on Incident Review and provides insight to the Mortality Review Committee to help develop regulations and policy to protect the people OPWDD supports.
Prior to her work in CQI, Ms. Smith worked in OPWDD state field operations in the Capital District as a Medicaid Service Coordinator.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh and a Master of Science degree in Education from the State University of New York at Albany.