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Jessica Behrhorst, MPH, CPHQ, CPHRM, CPPS is a nationally recognized leader in patient safety, quality improvement, and high reliability in healthcare. With more than 15 years of experience spanning academic, consulting, and health system leadership roles, Jessica has worked extensively with public, private, and federal healthcare organizations to advance cultures of safety and operational excellence. Her expertise includes high reliability organization (HRO) implementation, root cause analysis and action (RCA²), safety culture measurement, leadership development, and large-scale system transformation. She has served as a trusted advisor and subject matter expert to senior leadership across the nation’s largest health system, supporting HRO transformation efforts impacting more than 160 medical centers and thousands of healthcare professionals.
Jessica has served as a Senior Director for Patient Safety and Deliver currently serves as Faculty at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), where she leads the design and delivery of foundational and executive-level patient safety education for healthcare leaders, clinicians, and safety professionals across the United States and internationally. Prior to joining IHI, Jessica held progressive executive leadership roles at Ochsner Health, including System Assistant Vice President and System Director of Quality & Patient Safety, where she oversaw enterprise-wide quality, patient safety, and HRO strategy for a multi-hospital system. Her work included integrating safety practices during system expansion, leading large multidisciplinary teams, deploying safety culture measurement at scale, and implementing evidence-based improvement methodologies across acute and ambulatory settings.
Jessica is a frequent national speaker, educator, and author on patient safety and high reliability, with numerous peer-reviewed publications, national conference presentations, and invited lectures. She has served as lead faculty and program director for several of IHI’s flagship safety programs, including the Patient Safety Executive Development Program and Redesigning Event Review with RCA². She holds a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Systems Management from LSU Health Sciences Center School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Tulane University. She is a Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS), a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) and a Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management (CPHRM).
As a long time New Orleanian, Jessica shares in two great passions of the Crescent City, cooking and cheering on the New Orleans Saints. She brings her extensive experience as a former professional chef in several of New Orleans’ most storied kitchens to both her teambuilding initiatives and to creating fabulous meals for friends and family.
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