Healthcare Transformation Initiatives

Healthcare Transformation Initiatives

Prioritizing health in health care

The Healthcare Transformation Initiatives (HTI) Department implements programs that increase access to primary and specialty care, improve the effectiveness and efficiency of care, and reduce health care costs using a patient-centered approach.

HTI supports UT Physicians’ goal of exceeding all clinical, quality, and safety measures and being an innovative clinical practice that is the provider of choice for Southeast Texas and a model for other practices.

Services

In line with our mission and vision, as a collaborating partner, we offer the following internal services:

  • Consultation on grant proposals
  • Project management for projects
  • Review, consultation, and approval for projects that occur in UT Physicians clinics
  • Review and consultation on custom content for patient education and marketing
  • Data pulls for grant proposals and quality improvement projects
  • Innovative data analytics and visualizations
  • Develop user-friendly applications to enable end-users to interact seamlessly with data

Meet the Team

The HTI leadership team represents the following divisions to successfully support our mission and services:

Roles

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Sahar Qashqai

Sahar Qashqai, MPH, CLSSBB

Associate Vice President, Strategy & Quality

Yen Chi-Le

Yen Chi-Le, PhD

Executive Director, Innovation & Quality

Logan Thornton

Logan Thornton, DrPH, MPH, CHES, PCMH CCE, CLSSBB

Director, Population Health & Evidence-Based Practice

Sharif Mansur

Sharif Mansur, MPH, CLSSBB

Director, Project Management & Reporting

Ingrid Castillo

Ingrid Castillo, MPA, CLSSBB

Director, Strategic Initiatives

The Innovation and Quality Division is the think tank of HTI. The division’s primary focus areas are innovation, evaluation, and analytics. This division designs, implements, and evaluates various Managed Care Organization quality incentive programs, quality improvement, and research projects. The division also disseminates the work of the HTI department through white papers for executive leadership, prepares testimonies for the Texas State Legislature, presents at national and local conferences, and publishes articles in peer-reviewed journals. The Analytics arm of the division leverages advanced skills in SQL, Python, Tableau, and Epic reporting tools to transform data into actionable insights. Guided by principles of collaboration and innovation, this team designs impactful reports, visualizations, and applications that shape organizational strategy and enhance operational efficiency.

Roles


  • Set up new programs
  • Implement quality initiatives
  • Disseminate work via conferences and publications
  • Identify funding opportunities and apply for grants
  • Analyze and manage data for informed decision-making
  • Conduct program evaluation and cost-effectiveness analysis
  • Innovative data analytics and visualizations
  • Develop user-friendly applications to enable end-users to interact seamlessly with data
Yen Chi-Le

Yen-Chi Le, PhD

Executive Director, Innovation & Quality

Sandra Stansberry

Sandra Stansberry, MPH

Director, Innovation and Analytics

Tong Han Chung

Tong Han Chung, PhD, MPH

Senior Health Economist

Matthew Faatz

Matthew Faatz, MS

Business Intelligence Developer III

Jordan Godfrey-Stovall

Jordan Godfrey-Stovall, MS

Business Intelligence Developer I

Heath Goodrum

Heath Goodrum, MS

Business Intelligence Developer III

Kathleen Hanley

Kathleen Hanley, DrPH, MS, CHES

Manager, Project Management Innovation & Evaluation

Angie Hayes

Angie Hayes, DHI, MS

Project Manager II

Richard Marciniak

Richard Marciniak, BS, CG(ASCP)CM, CAPM®

Business Intelligence Developer II

Linh Nguyen

Linh Nguyen, PhD, MS

Senior Health Economist

Rhea Olegario

Rhea Olegario, MPH, MCHES

Epic Business Intelligence Applications Specialist II Practice Plan

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Kevin Sanchez

Project Manager II

The Population Health and Evidence-Based Practice Division is the center of the action. The division works to identify underlying social drivers of health disparities and operationalizes programs to improve the quality of health for patients. The division is responsible for guiding the practice plan’s strategy to promote wellness and chronic disease self-management, inform value-based models, and lead efforts to use evidence-based guidelines for clinical integration across the organization. The division also coordinates population health activities underpinned by the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) service delivery model. Team-based primary care utilizes interdisciplinary teams to coordinate physical and behavioral care across the medical neighborhood, educate and support patient goal attainment, and proactively manage chronic diseases.

Roles


  • Operate Transitions of Care Hub
  • Improve Chronic Disease Management
  • Maintain PCMH recognition
  • Implement Wellness/Patient Education programs
  • Coordinate patient care and support through Multidisciplinary Care Teams
  • Grow community partnerships
  • Integrate social determinants of health screening

Care Team Service


  • Leverage care team support for special projects
  • Consult with practices pursuing case management accreditation
  • Liaise with community-based organizations to develop health promotion initiatives
Logan Thornton

Logan R. Thornton, DrPH, MPH, CHES, PCMH CCE, CLSSBB

Director, Population Health & Evidence-Based Practice

Cheryle DeMaria

Cheryle DeMaria, MSN, BSN, RN

Manager, Clinical Case Management

Monique Johnson

Monique Johnson, MS, CCHW

Community Health Worker Supervisor

Pio Juan Lansangan

Pio Juan Lansangan, PharmD, APh, NASM-CPT

Clinical Pharmacy Supervisor

Nancy Ngo

Nancy Ngo, MSW, LCSW

Social Work Supervisor

Natalia Williams

Natalia Williams, MPH, CHES

Project Manager II

Kira Wilson

Kira Wilson, MS, RD, LD, CDCES, MSHA

Diabetes Program Manager

Project Management and Reporting focuses on planning and managing health care quality improvement projects to ensure the timely completion of program deliverables. Due to the inherently cross-functional nature of patient care, the project management division provides flexibility in the approach to project completion and planning, and execution for the view of all stakeholders. The project management division is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to achieve goals.

Roles



  • Manage and maintain metrics
  • Provide regular program reports
  • Support ad-hoc requests
  • Conduct audits
  • Manage projects
  • Disseminate project results and successes
Sharif Mansur

Sharif Mansur

Director, Project Management & Reporting

Tunu Tenende

Tunu Tenende, MPH, PMP

Assistant Director

Stephanie Dixon

Stephanie Dixon

Manager, Project Management

Robyn Harris

Robyn Harris, MPA, CLSSGB

Manager, Project Management – Practice Plan

Lance Johnson

Lance Johnson

Project Manager II

Isaac Mancillas

Isaac Mancillas

Project Manager I

Xochitl Olguin

Xochitl Olguin, MBA, CLSSGB

Project Manager II

The Integrated Behavioral Health program leads efforts to improve health outcomes through integrated behavioral healthcare in primary and specialty care settings. This program is the driving force behind the practice-wide advancement of crisis prevention and intervention strategies.

Roles


  • Optimize crisis management to improve patient safety and team performance
  • Integration of behavioral health
  • Enhance universal screening for common behavioral disorders
  • Strengthen skills in addressing mental health concerns
Ingrid Castillo

Ingrid Castillo, MPA, CLSSBB

Director, Strategic Initiatives

Rhonda Conyers

Rhonda Conyers, MSW, LCSW-S

Manager of Social Work and Quality Assurance

Elizabeth Martinez

Elizabeth Martinez, BA

Assistant Project Manager

Jennifer Noblet

Jennifer Noblet, MSW, LCSW-S

Manager, Behavioral Health

The Division of Strategic Initiatives accelerates the successful development and implementation of new long-range strategic objectives. It is on a transformative journey to shift the organization’s focus towards the broader adoption of alternative payment models, aiming for significant savings and improved quality. The division provides direct guidance and coordination for special projects and ensures the success of parallel programs.

Roles


  • Adoption of alternative payment models
  • Maximize revenue through clinical documentation improvement programs
  • Operate Patient Integrated Care Team (PICT)
  • Manage special projects
  • Implement processes and workflow to enhance patient access
  • Advance practice-plan telehealth services
  • Further technological innovations to improve outcomes
Ingrid Castillo

Ingrid Castillo, MPA, CLSSBB

Director, Strategic Initiatives

Stephanie Dixon

Stephanie Dixon

Manager, Project Management

Corporate Engagement & Wellness Services

Leslie Feld

Leslie Feld

Senior Manager, Community Relations, Wellness Services

UT Physicians Wellness Services supports the corporate organization’s efforts to maintain a strong and productive workforce. The wellness team offers a wide range of services and screenings to help improve the health of employees, from vaccinations and blood pressure readings to BMI measurements and cholesterol screenings. Their mission is to promote the UT Physicians community-based clinics and provide services on-site and at community events within the Greater Houston area.

Nurse Triage Line

Robin Riggs

Robin Riggs, MSN, CEN, RN

Assistant Director, Nursing

Lauren Cantu

Lauren Cantu

BSN, RN, Nurse Manager

UT Physicians Nurse Triage Line (NTL) provides access to patients by trained registered nurse staff who can provide patient care ranging from home care advice to emergent interventions using approved, and evidence-based adult and pediatric protocols. With over 400 plus combined years of critical care nursing experience and taking over 240,000 calls annually, NTL plays an integral part in providing safe and appropriate nursing care and clinical advice to the patients of UT Physicians.