NAHQ Recognizes 2026 Healthcare Quality Award Recipients and Fellows

Honorees exemplify leadership, innovation and commitment to advancing healthcare quality and safety

CHICAGO, Nov. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association for Healthcare Quality^® (NAHQ) today announced its 2026 award recipients and newly inducted Fellows, recognizing professionals who work in quality and safety whose leadership, service, scholarship and performance improvement efforts are advancing the profession and discipline and improving healthcare.

"Professionals who work in healthcare quality are essential to building safer, more effective systems of care," said Stephanie Mercado, CAE, CPHQ, chief executive officer of NAHQ. "This year's honorees exemplify the leadership, expertise and commitment that move our profession and discipline forward and help translate quality improvement into meaningful impact for patients and healthcare organizations."

NAHQ inducts two Fellows

The NAHQ Fellowship designation recognizes members who have made outstanding contributions to healthcare quality and safety and are actively engaged in advancing both the profession and NAHQ's mission. Fellows serve as role models for the healthcare quality profession and discipline, with candidates demonstrating contributions through leadership and service as well as published works, lectures and presentations, or mentorship.

Patricia "Patty" Resnik, CPHQ, Chief Compliance Officer, HealPros

Resnik brings 30 years of experience in the healthcare quality profession, with executive leadership spanning quality, care management, virtual health, compliance and enterprise risk management. In her current role, she leads organizational quality, compliance and privacy programs, partnering with service line leaders to embed a culture of compliance throughout the organization. Her responsibilities encompass developing compliance and HIPAA policies and workflows, designing enterprise-wide education programs, establishing internal controls and audit processes, and overseeing third-party risk management and enterprise risk assessments. She also partners with information security leadership to advance compliance with HITRUST R2 certification standards.

Her contributions to the profession include serving as president of the NAHQ Board of Directors in 2024 and 2025, along with published work and presentations addressing quality, regulatory strategy, care transitions and performance improvement. Her published contributions include a chapter on population health and care transitions in HQ Solutions Resource for the Healthcare Quality Professional, Fifth Edition and an article in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.

Robin K. Betts, CPHQ, Vice President, Safety, Quality & Regulatory Services, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals, Northern California

Betts is a healthcare quality and patient safety executive whose career spans quality, regulatory services, risk management, patient safety and performance improvement.

Her work in quality improvement at Kaiser Permanente, in partnership with NAHQ, has demonstrated the measurable return on investment of quality initiatives and helped advance the business case for quality as a driver of organizational performance and industry-wide improvement.

She has contributed to the profession through board leadership, published thought leadership and presentations focused on patient safety, health equity, data-driven improvement, and the role of quality in strengthening healthcare organizations.

Her professional service includes leadership with the Patient Safety Movement Foundation and Lifelong Medical Care.

NAHQ also recognizes three members with its 2026 awards.

Claire Glover Distinguished Member Award

The Claire Glover Distinguished Member Award recognizes a dynamic and passionate NAHQ member who demonstrates enthusiasm and leadership and contributes to healthcare quality through activities including consultation, publications and presentations. The award honors Claire Glover, an advocate for NAHQ and healthcare quality who was instrumental in mentoring and encouraging others to become NAHQ leaders.

The 2026 Recipient is Neha Chowrasia, CPHQ, Clinical Effectiveness Consultant IV, Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital.

Chowrasia is recognized for her commitment to advancing healthcare quality through professional leadership, volunteer service, education and scholarship. Her contributions include service with NAHQ, the American Society for Quality and other healthcare organizations, as well as publications, presentations, peer review and community work focused on healthcare quality, patient safety and health equity.

Her recent work includes leadership roles within American Society for Quality divisions, service on the NAHQ Awards Team and numerous publications and presentations addressing healthcare quality, continuous improvement, disparities and the intersection of technology and healthcare.

Luc R. Pelletier Healthcare Quality Award for Improving Organizational Performance

The Luc R. Pelletier Healthcare Quality Award recognizes a NAHQ member who has developed and actively participated in a performance improvement project, program or initiative that demonstrates improved organizational performance and directly affects the quality of healthcare for a defined patient population. The award is named for Luc R. Pelletier, who served as editor-in-chief of the Journal for Healthcare Quality from 1998 to 2007 and championed excellence through professional service, teaching, writing and publishing.

The 2026 Recipient is Heidi DelVecchio, Ambulatory Market Manager, Quality, University Hospitals. DelVecchio is recognized for leading a quality improvement initiative that introduced structured safety huddles across 18 ambulatory physician offices. The initiative strengthened proactive identification and communication of patient safety risks, including increasing near-miss reporting from zero before implementation to 11 events during the six-week pilot, while establishing a structured pathway for escalating system-level safety concerns.

Journal for Healthcare Quality Impact Article Award

The Journal for Healthcare Quality Impact Article Award recognizes the lead author of an article that highlights research and ideas promoting excellence in healthcare and has significant impact on the healthcare quality profession.

The 2026 Recipient is Jill McCormick. Jill McCormick serves as Manager of Continuous Improvement for the Front Range Region of Intermountain Health, where she oversees quality improvement efforts across four acute care hospitals and 90 clinics in Colorado.

Her award-winning article highlighted a hospital-wide, interdisciplinary quality improvement effort that reduced monthly emergency department hold hours by more than 75%, offering a practical approach other healthcare organizations can adapt. 

Together, the 2026 honorees reflect the many ways healthcare quality professionals strengthen healthcare, from executive leadership and professional service to scholarship, education, patient safety and performance improvement.

About NAHQ

The National Association for Healthcare Quality^® (NAHQ^®) is the global authority advancing healthcare Quality & Safety across the healthcare continuum. NAHQ sets and maintains the industry standard for healthcare Quality & Safety competencies through its Healthcare Quality Competency Framework™. This expert-developed, data-driven, continuously validated Framework, endorsed by Joint Commission, defines the knowledge, skills, and behaviors required to achieve measurable clinical Quality & Safety and financial outcomes that deliver on healthcare excellence. NAHQ helps individuals and organizations activate the Framework through education, workforce development solutions, industry-leading insights, and the only accredited certification in healthcare quality, the Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality^® (CPHQ^®).

NAHQ supports hundreds of organizations and a powerful professional community across the globe to advance a shared vision for strong Quality workforces and cultures. Learn more at NAHQ.org

Media Contact
Evelyn Warren
704.488.7690
[email protected]

SOURCE National Association For Healthcare Quality