This KHA quality webinar presentation will explore how healthcare leaders can leverage S.M.A.R.T Goals—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—to drive meaningful improvements in patient care and operational efficiency.  Please join us as we  demonstrate how these goals align with performance improvement methodologies and introduce practical tools that make problem-solving structured and effective.

Key performance tools we’ll cover include:

• Flowcharts: visualizing processes to uncover inefficiencies.
• Pareto Charts: Focusing on the “vital few” issues that cause the most of problems.
• Control Charts: Tracking process stability and detecting variations over time.
• Fishbone (Ishikawa) Diagrams: Conducting root cause analysis for complex issues.
• Dashboards: Providing real-time performance insights for decision-making.

By the end of this session, participants will understand how to set actionable goals and apply these tools to achieve measurable improvements in health care quality.

Target Audience: Health care leaders, quality/performance improvement teams and leaders, patient safety officers, risk management professionals, clinical leadership, physician and nursing leaders, clinical educators training around quality and safety, and other health care professionals.

Billie A. Delauder, DNP, MSN/RN, CPHQ, CPPS, HACP-CMS, CFPS, earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in 2019 from Chamberlain College of Nursing.  With over 38 years of nursing experience, including 18+  years in Performance Improvement (PI), she has held roles such as Senior Core Measure Abstraction Specialist and PI Supervisor. Her background includes emergency care, medical-surgical care, PI, and safety services. She has also worked as an interim Nurse Administrator at American National University and as a Clinical Nursing Instructor at the University of Pikeville.  Currently, she is a Quality Process Improvement Specialist for the KHA, focusing on quality and safety measures for Kentucky, supporting hospitals with process and procedure development.