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Jan 10, 2013

Deborah Smith of NOVACES Selected for Most Powerful and Influential Women Award

Deborah Smith was recognized by Donna Brazile, Vice Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, and Dennis Kennedy, Founder & CEO of the National Diversity Council, during the Fourth Annual Louisiana Women's Conference.

New Orleans, LA -- The Fourth Annual Louisiana Women’s Conference was held at Dillard University in New Orleans. The conference is an annual event that aims to advance and empower women. Each year the conference holds an awards ceremony for the Most Powerful and Influential Women. Deborah Smith, a Ph.D. who runs the healthcare practice of a management consulting company called NOVACES, was honored with the award in 2012.

Ms. Smith is a widely known thought leader in healthcare performance improvement. She has over thirty years of experience in clinical and operational healthcare including leadership development, process design, organizational development and change management. Deborah has led the implementation of Lean Six Sigma for healthcare at large hospital systems. She is also a devoted educator, having taught upcoming healthcare leaders at West Virginia School of Medicine, and University of Charleston.

Before joining NOVACES, Deborah relocated to Alaska to work as Chief Strategy and Quality Officer at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), an organization that manages statewide health services for Alaska Natives. During her tenure at ANTHC, Deborah was part of the Executive Leadership Team responsible for building innovative strategies to provide health care services in one of the most challenging environments in the world to some of the most remote locations in North America.

Today, Deborah is promoting strategies to speed the implementation of healthcare reform. NOVACES, the healthcare management consulting company she now works for, helps hospitals identify and exploit constraints that prevent the transformation required to remain viable in the current reform environment. Smith wants to help hospital leaders to 'focus and leverage' in order to become more efficient, to control costs, and provide remarkable quality of care.

“I am honored to work in healthcare, the most complex organizations in the world! I get to share years of experience and knowledge with others while building friendships for life. To see the learning and results achieved by those whom you make an intellectual investment is my reward.”

Deborah received the 2012 Most Powerful and Influential Women Award award as a result of her work as a woman leader, her actions in the communities that she works and lives, and respect she commands as a change agent for healthcare. The award was presented by Donna Brazile, Vice Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, and Dennis Kennedy, Founder & CEO of the National Diversity Council.

However, there was only so much time for Deborah to reflect on these achievements at the Louisiana Women’s Conference, because the very next day she was off to rural Kansas to meet with healthcare leaders there about how to leverage limited resources to keep up with healthcare reform. So, Deborah continues her mission to transform healthcare to meet the requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2013 and beyond.

About Deborah Smith
Deborah offers leaders a unique and sought after combination of healthcare experience with skills to lead, organize and implement structured problem solving techniques.

Deborah’s expertise includes supporting departments and sites with research, analysis, and identification of complex opportunities for improvement, while building internal capability and intellectual capital. She was a GE Medical System’s Healthcare Solutions Senior Consultant, Six Sigma Product Leader, and MBB (Master Black Belt and Change Agent).

Prior to joining NOVACES Deborah was: CEO of Physician Enterprise, Chief Strategic Planning and Quality Officer for State Consortium and President of Professional Licensure Boards. She was employed as Process Design Director for Academic Medical Center Six Sigma Team, a Six Sigma Master Black Belt and Master Change Agent, Radiologic Technologist, Cardiac Technologist, Women’s Comprehensive Care Center Administrator, Business Development Strategist, at a large tertiary medical center. She has over thirty years of experience in clinical and operational healthcare, experience in process design and performance improvement, organizational development and change management. Prior work experience includes operational management, education, external consulting, continuous improvement, medical imaging, cardiology, primary care medicine, women’s health, leadership development, and government legislation and change management education.

Her academic credentials are in healthcare, business and education with a Ph.D. in Healthcare Management, Masters in Human Resource Management, Bachelors in Education, and Associate Degree in Radiologic Technology.

About NOVACES
NOVACES is a management consulting firm that provides performance management, continuous process improvement (CPI), and project management services to both public and private sector organizations. The company helps clients build capabilities in today's most effective methodologies to achieve breakthrough operational and financial results. NOVACES can be contacted at 504-544-6888 or by visiting the website http://www.novaces.com.

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