Ascension names Kristi Henderson, DNP, Vice President of Patient Access and Care Delivery Transformation
SAINT LOUIS – February 2, 2018 – Kristi Henderson, DNP, NP-BC, FAAN, FAEN, has been selected to serve in the position of Vice President, Patient Access and Care Delivery Transformation, for Ascension Healthcare, the healthcare delivery subsidiary of Ascension. She will report to Karen Springer, President, Healthcare Operations, Ascension Healthcare.
“As the healthcare environment rapidly evolves to a more consumer-centric approach, Ascension’s ability to create a seamless end-to-end experience for those we serve – including improved patient access and navigation, customer service and care coordination – will be vital to our continued success in achieving our Mission,” Springer said.
Dr. Henderson is nationally recognized for successfully increasing access to high-quality, low-cost healthcare for thousands of patients through virtual care models, and has served as the Vice President, Virtual Care & Innovation, for Ascension Texas since 2015. She also serves as a Clinical Professor of Population Health at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas-Austin.
“Kristi’s new role is not an additional position but an expansion of the work Kristi has done in her current role within Ascension Texas,” Springer said. “We are elevating her transformative work to benefit Ascension’s Healthcare Division.”
Ascension has placed the patient at the center – that means focusing on greater consumer engagement and a consistent consumer experience. One of Dr. Henderson’s primary responsibilities will involve building a national approach and solution center for remote care coordination, central referral resources, transfer management, remote patient monitoring, call center services and appointment scheduling, and overall patient customer service.
“This approach would take a 360-degree view of the patient to anticipate their needs and would be deployed offering scale and standardization for a patient experience that underscores our Ascension brand promise of compassionate, personalized care for all,” Springer said. “It is based on a successful model that Kristi built for Ascension Texas – the GoodHealth Solutions Center and GoodHealth Digital Clinic in Austin provides integrated services for providers and for patients through one centrally staffed resource center.”
A virtuous servant leader, Dr. Henderson has more than 20 years of experience as an innovator, educator, researcher and clinician. She joined Ascension from The University of Mississippi Medical Center, where she was Chief Telehealth & Innovation Officer. In Mississippi, she led the development of a statewide Telehealth Program, which was recognized as a national model. She understands the importance of using virtual medicine to enhance effective care models, with the overall goal of filling any gaps, adding innovative solutions and serving patients more efficiently.
She has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Advancing Telehealth through Connectivity, as well as the Subcommittee on Rural Health and the White House Domestic Policy Council. She has made numerous presentations across the country to advance virtual medicine policy and practice, including giving a TEDx talk and being selected to speak at the SXSW international event in Austin, Texas. Dr. Henderson is regularly consulted by other healthcare leaders, politicians, physicians, nurses, journalists and members of the academic community.
Some of her leadership roles include service as board member of the American Telemedicine Association, executive director of the Mississippi Telehealth Association and board member of Mississippi Health Information Network. Dr. Henderson is also a Fellow in the Emergency Nurses Association and the American Academy of Nursing.
Her accomplishments include: American Association of Nurse Practitioners state award for excellence, 2017; Mississippi’s 50 Leading Business Women, 2015; Nurse Innovator of the Year, 2014; Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Executive Fellow, 2013-2016; Advanced Practice Nurse of the Year, 2012; and voted an “Edge Runner” by the American Academy of Nurses.
Dr. Henderson received her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham; her Master of Science in Nursing from the Mississippi University for Women, Columbus, Mississippi; and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Mississippi College, Clinton, Mississippi. She maintains national certification as a family and acute care nurse practitioner.
SOURCE: Ascension