Title: Quality Nursing Consultant in National Accreditation and Quality ConsultingCompany: Kaiser PermanenteLocation: Aumsville, Oregon, United States
Donna J. Berning, MS, BS, RN, CPHQ, HACP, CLSSBB, Quality Nursing Consultant in National Accreditation and Quality Consulting at Kaiser Permanente, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Nurses for dedication, achievements, and leadership in health care.
With nearly a decade and a half of experience, Ms. Berning has built a successful career in health care, specializing in environmental care, fire and life safety, and the strategic development of facilities to ensure they are equipped to deliver optimal care while preempting potential issues. She currently excels as a quality nursing consultant at National Accreditation and Quality Consulting at Kaiser Permanente, a role she has held since 2018. In this capacity, she works at a national level, overseeing ambulatory care services that involve invasive procedures, high-alert medications, and sterile processing instrumentation. She provides guidance on best practices in these areas and also addresses perioperative, safety, and environmental care issues on the hospital side.
Ms. Berning’s experience also includes roles such as executive nurse consultant and regional nurse consultant for the Northwest Region’s ambulatory surgery centers at Kaiser Permanente from 2016 to 2018. She also worked in quality, patient safety, accreditation, regulatory, and licensing at Kaiser Permanente from 2010 to 2016 and served as ambulatory surgical center manager at Kaiser Permanente from 2007 to 2010. Earlier in her career, she was a registered nurse and supervisor at Skyline Ambulatory Surgery Center, Kaiser Permanente in Salem, from 2004 to 2007, and was the owner of Berning Nursing Consultant, where she worked as a certified legal nursing consultant from 1998 to 2007.
Ms. Berning is an active member of the executive leadership round table in ambulatory nursing and the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses. She has also dedicated her time as a facilitator for the Urgent Care and Clinical Decision Unit and the Ambulatory Surgery Accreditation Work Group since 2018. Additionally, she serves as a board member for the Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality Collaboration, a position she has held since 2012. Additionally, she is a supporter of Easterseals, United Cerebral Palsy, and Doernbecher Children’s Hospital at Oregon Health & Science University, and a member of the National Infection Prevention Committee Community Practice and the National Magnet Committee for Ambulatory and Hospital Settings.
In recognition of her impressive achievements, Ms. Berning was honored with the James A. Vohs Award for Quality for her work on the Pathway to Zero Initiative to reduce surgical site infections, awarded by the Quality Oversight Board at Kaiser Permanente’s corporate office in 2013. She laid a strong foundation for her success by earning a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Corporate Health and Fitness from Western Oregon State College, and she holds an honorary Master of Science from the Biological Institute. Her certifications include being a registered nurse, certified professional in healthcare quality, in the healthcare accreditation certification program, and certified as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
In the coming years, Ms. Berning will focus on a major project aimed at improving quality governance oversight in the ambulatory market across all Kaiser locations. Her goal is to develop and implement comprehensive guidance for sterile processing, procedural sedation, safety, and environmental care issues across the enterprise. She is committed to completing this project and ensuring its sustainability within the organization before she retires. A key part of her long-term objective is to mentor future leaders who will uphold and advance these efforts.
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