Kierstin Cates Kennedy
Leaders who have the desire to make it to the top of their organizations need to know how to get there. They want to understand what obstacles are in front of them and how best to avoid or overcome them. This group of executives will share what worked for them and what they’d recommend for others who want a shot at the top spots. Moderated by Michele Elrod. Panelists are Wendy Evesque, Kierstin Cates Kennedy, Joe Hampton and Michael Patterson.
About Kierstin:
Dr. Kennedy is dual trained in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and practices as an academic hospitalist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she holds a rank of clinical associate professor of medicine and serves as Chief Medical Officer of UAB Hospital.
She is fellowship trained in quality improvement in healthcare via the VA Quality Scholars Program and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt with expertise in inpatient coding and documentation, Case Mix Index improvement, Observed to Expected Mortality improvement strategies, efficiency in hospital throughput, and ultrasound guided bedside procedures. As a national expert on bedside procedural skills and creator of the UAB Procedure Service and UAB Comprehensive Vascular Access Team she has focused past QI efforts on improving bedside procedure outcomes, and as Chief of Hospital Medicine focused on identifying and improving meaningful hospital-based quality metrics and educational and professional development of hospitalists. She is a fellow in the American College of Physicians, a Senior Fellow in the Society of Hospital Medicine and serves on the Society of Hospital Medicine board of directors. She is a nationally recognized speaker on leadership, emotional intelligence, and effective conflict resolution and serves as Course Director of the SHM Leadership Academy. Dr. Kennedy earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, medical doctorate and Master of Science in health administration at UAB and has been recognized for excellence both locally (2017 Deans Excellence Award in Service) and nationally (2021 VAQS Paul Batalden Award and 2022 UAB National Alumni Society Distinguished Alumni Award.)
