Meet the Data Initiative Staff
Susan McBride, PhD, RN, Senior VP DFWHC, President Education & Research Foundation
Dr. McBride is a clinician with over 20 years of experience in clinical, management, healthcare informatics and outcomes management capacities, with profession objectives to contribute to education, research and development of measuring cost and quality of healthcare services with a focus on healthcare informatics and improving health and clinical outcomes of populations.
Nicole Johnson, RN, MBA, Director of DI Services
Nicole is a clinician with over 15 years of experience in clinical, quality improvement, healthcare informatics and outcomes management capacities. Nicole has been a committed member of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council staff for over 7 years. She is extremely knowledgeable about the THCIC data submission process, electronic format for submission of healthcare data, and measurement methodologies in healthcare.
Benjamin Jacob, MPH, Patient Safety & Quality Regional Coordinator
Benjamin holds a B.S. from Texas A&M University as well as graduate degree from the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University. Benjamin is experienced in working with community based agencies and nonprofit organizations planning programs and services for various populations. Prior to joining the Hospital Council, Benjamin served as the director of a hospital based asthma program in Brooklyn, New York. Benjamin will assist the Patient Safety & Quality Committee achieve its mission of supporting member hospitals to improve health care through the development and effective use of clinical data.
Michelle Erickson, Senior Data Analyst / SAS Programmer
Michelle holds a Bachelor's Degree in Statistics from North Carolina State University. Her background includes 6 years of professional experience working within the MIS division of one of the world's leading financial services corporations. Michelle's expertise is in both SAS Programming and Cognos development. She joined the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council in early 2006 and is looking forward to applying her skills and experience to the Healthcare Industry.
Theresa Mendoza, Senior Data Analyst
Theresa has a background in healthcare information technology have served as the Director of Information Services for an area hospital. She has extensive knowledge of the THCIC data submission process. Theresa supported a multi-hospital THCIC data submission process at the corporate offices of a large local healthcare system. She also has more recently acquired expertise in the new ANSI transactions format.
Mari Tietze, PhD, RN, Senior Research Project Lead
Dr. Tietze is a clinician with over 10 years of experience in association work at VHA supporting hospitals with information technology needs. Dr. Tietze assessed technology on behalf of VHA with recommendations on products for hospitals. Prior to VHA product evaluation work she was in software product development for VHA. Dr. Tietze leads the AHRQ Rural Grant activity on behalf of the DFWHC to deploy the technology component of the grant. Considerable development is being done during the scope of the three year AHRQ Grant funding to delivery innovative technology to rural and small community hospitals, this development is offered to both rural and urban hospitals. Dr. Tietze supports many activities of the Work Force Center, including the nursing shortage.
Lee Kallenbach, PhD, MPH, Senior Research Project Lead – Ambulatory & Community Health
Dr. Kallenbach recently joined the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council after coming from the Departments of Pediatrics and Community Medicine at Wayne State University in Detroit Michigan. He is an epidemiologist by training with a career that spans both public health and the private health care sector. Dr Kallenbach has special interest in the role of healthcare in population-based health. As such he is expert in community health measurement and mapping. He has extensive experience in many aspects of healthcare delivery, data management, and evaluation including work with: the Wayne State University Center for Urban and African-American Health, the City of Detroit Dying Before Their Time Task Force; the Detroit Medical Center Community Health Institutes; the Voices of Detroit Initiative - Care for the Uninsured program; the State of Michigan Medicaid Access program as well as many others. Dr. Kallenbach plans on applying much of what he has learned to population health measurement and improvement in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
