AHQA Board of Directors & Staff

Officers

Ryan Sailor, MBA
President

Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Great Plains QIN

Ryan Sailor is the President & Chief Operating Officer of Great Plains Quality Innovation Network (GPQIN), a four-state partnership in ND, SD, NE, and KS.  He has been with the QIO program since 2003, and past duties have included data analysis, supporting hospitals with their data reporting, contract performance monitoring, staff training and management, and leading quality improvement initiatives.

He also serves as the IDIQ Director, leading operations for GPQIN. Ryan’s current duties include providing executive and strategic leadership for successful performance of Task Orders under the IDIQ contract, overall supervision, strategic planning and direction, and policy development for the IDIQ contract and for other designated contracts/initiatives undertaken by GPQIN. His responsibilities include reporting outcomes to the GPQIN Board of Directors, regularly monitoring performance as compared to contract goals, convening leadership across GPQIN monthly via the Regional Management Committee. Another area of responsibility includes managing internal and external customer relationships with CMS, key stakeholders, providers, customers, and clients at the state, regional, and national level.

Ryan enjoys supporting healthcare providers and stakeholders across our region, and gets in an occasional round of golf between his kids’ various activities/sports. He received his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Sioux Falls.
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Marc Bennet
Immediate Past President

President and Chief Executive Officer
Comagine Health

Marc H. Bennett is president and chief executive officer at Comagine Health, a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the hard problems in health and health care in communities across the country.  As CEO, Mr. Bennett is responsible for all Comagine Health contracts and activities. Comagine Health’s services include health care quality consulting, data and analytics, health information technology support, research and care management services for a broad range of public and private sector clients across the U.S. The organization employs over 400 people.

Mr. Bennett currently serves on the Executive Committee and as Immediate Past President of the American Health Quality Association (AHQA) and is the current Chair of the Board of Directors for the Civitas Networks for Health, a national network representing regional health improvement collaboratives and health information exchanges across the country.

Mr. Bennett also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Utah Health Information Network (UHIN).  Mr. Bennett is also Board Treasurer of the One Utah Health Collaborative, a community-owned 501(c)(3) serving as a lever to transform health care in Utah.

Mr. Bennett’s previous national roles have included AHQA President and Board Chair of the Network for Regional Health Improvement (NRHI). Marc has also served on the Quality Alliance Steering Committee at the Brookings Institution, as a member of the national advisory board of the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, and as a National Quality Forum representative on the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety & Quality Awards Committee.

Mr. Bennett is a frequent contributor to national policy forums in health information technology, health information exchange and improvement, and has served on numerous advisory and planning committees or task forces associated with a broad range of state, regional, federal and private national policy groups.
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Leland Babitch, M.D., MBA
Immediate Past President

Lake Superior

Leland Babitch, M.D., MBA, is the President and CEO of MPRO in Farmington Hills, MI. MPRO is the CMS-designated Quality Improvement Organization for the state of Michigan.  With twenty years in healthcare, Dr. Babitch brings a demonstrated expertise in quality improvement, electronic health record technology, advanced analytics, health information exchange, population health, and hospital/medical group governance.

Prior to joining MPRO, Dr. Babitch served as an Executive Medical Director with Clinovations, a division of The Advisory Board Company.  Additionally, he has served as a Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Information Officer at the Detroit Medical Center.  There, his guidance and leadership contributed to the health system’s success in reaching Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Stage 6, realizing more than $32 million in meaningful use incentives, as well as a $16 million Beacon award.

Dr. Babitch has worked as a Medical Director for United Healthcare of Minneapolis, MN. At the Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Detroit Medical Center, Dr. Babitch served in many roles including as the Director of Ambulatory and Information Services for Children’s Hospital of Michigan, as well as the Chief Compliance Officer for University Pediatricians. Dr. Babitch continues to practice clinically and teach as an Assistant Professor at the Wayne State University School of Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics.

Dr. Babitch holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine, a Master of Business Administration from Michigan State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in genetics and developmental biography from Northwestern University.  He is a Certified Medical Practice Executive (MGMA), and a Felllow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.  Dr. Babitch is board certified in Pediatrics, as well as Medical Informatics.

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Rick Potter, CPA, MBA
Treasurer

Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
West, HSAG

Rick Potter is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Health Services Advisory Group, Inc. (HSAG). Mr. Potter is responsible for overseeing HSAG’s Federal Division and State & Corporate Services Division, including the Medicare Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) contracts and all of HSAG’s state Medicaid external quality review contracts.

Mr. Potter, who has been with HSAG since 2003, has extensive experience in, and knowledge of, healthcare quality systems and managed care programs as they relate to performance based contracting, and in Medicaid reimbursement systems. As a principal with William M. Mercer, Inc., he managed projects to establish risk-adjusted rates, conducted operational and financial health plan reviews, managed quality assurance programs, developed capitation rates, and conducted health plan rate negotiations. As deputy director of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) from 1990 to 1998, Mr. Potter designed, planned, and implemented Arizona’s Children’s Health Insurance Program, “KidsCare.”  Mr. Potter was also responsible for financial and operational oversight of the AHCCCS acute care health plans, long-term care program contractors, and regional behavioral health authorities. While deputy director, he served as chair of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicaid Managed Care Technical Advisory Group from 1996 to 1998.

Mr. Potter earned a Master of Business Administration from Arizona State University, located in Tempe, Arizona. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from California State University at Northridge, California. Mr. Potter is certified by the National Committee of Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) Compliance Auditor.

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Directors

Jill Alessi, RN, BSN, MHA

Chief Executive Officer
Mountain Pacific

Jill Alessi is the chief executive officer for Mountain Pacific, where she oversees a diverse team living and working across multiple states and in Guam. Ms. Alessi has more than 20 years of experience in health care and health care operations and is an experienced leader in developing and growing strategic programs that support health outcomes while addressing fiscal responsibility and social drivers of health. She is dedicated to improving health for individuals and communities.

Ms. Alessi joined Mountain Pacific in 2023. Headquartered in Helena, MT, Mountain Pacific holds federal, state and commercial contracts to support improved population health and health care services, including the Medicare Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) contract for the states of Alaska, Hawaii, Montana and Wyoming and the U.S. Pacific Territories of Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Before joining Mountain Pacific, Ms. Alessi held various leadership positions in agencies related to health and in clinical settings. She has also served on multiple boards of directors, working collaboratively to support community health and well-being. In 2022, the Women’s and Children’s Alliance awarded Ms. Alessi the Tribute to Women and Industry (TWIN) award, which recognizes professional women who have excelled in their fields and made significant contributions to the business community in executive, managerial and professional roles. Ms. Alessi, a licensed registered nurse, earned her master’s degree in health care administration from Southern New Hampshire University and her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Villanova University.
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Mary-Lyn Baldauf

Chief Executive Officer
Qsource

Mary-Lyn Baldauf, Qsource’s Chief Executive Officer, has an extensive background of over 20 years in executive leadership and organizational growth at several healthcare organizations, particularly in long-term care. Mary-Lyn attended the University of Guelph, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Kinetics with Honors. Additionally, she obtained her Home Health Administrator (OHCAPA) certification from the State of Oklahoma.

Prior to joining Qsource, Mary-Lyn was as the CEO of Kindred Health Care’s Greensboro LTAC Hospital in North Carolina. She successfully guided the hospital to exceed earnings goals and achieve the company’s highest and most prestigious Quality Award for three consecutive years. She also served as the CEO of Unity Home Care, Vice President of Operations for the Home Health Division at Amedisys Home Health Services, District Sales Manager for Eisai Pharmaceuticals Senior National, and Director of Business Development for the Hospital and Home Health divisions at LifeCare Partners.

Mary-Lyn has always been a motivated, results-oriented company leader. She has excelled in fast-paced workplaces by adapting and implementing company-specific methods. She improved organizational growth and performance by increasing measurement and accountability tools for business development strategies and projects. Most importantly, she spearheaded development, company initiatives and oversaw transdisciplinary teams, to provide high quality, patient-centered care.

Mary-Lyn has been a consistent advocate for patients receiving the highest quality care. She states that having a united purpose among an organization's members is the single most important factor in determining its success. Giving one's all to a shared objective while keeping in mind to enjoy one's time at work is the surest way to succeed, in her opinion, because mediocrity destroys self-esteem. Her experience along with perspective from customer and service provider viewpoints uniquely qualify her to lead Qsource in its mission of improving healthcare quality through patient-centered, provider-focused solutions that enhance the patient’s quality of life.
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Sven Berg, MD, MPH, FAAP, CPE

Chief Executive Officer
Quality Insights

Dr. Sven T. Berg is the Chief Executive Officer at Quality Insights, Inc.  where he is responsible for oversight of a diverse range of large federal, state and commercial projects focused on health care quality improvement and assurance. He leads a team of more than 300 employees and independent contractors whose skills include quality improvement, data analysis, Health Information Technology implementation, and clinical practice transformation.

Quality Insights, Inc. is the lead organization of a five-state Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) chartered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Under CMS’ End Stage Renal Disease Network (ESRD) program, Quality Insights improves care for kidney patients in three regions. Quality Insights also abstracts records for the Department of Veterans Affairs and conducts nationwide quality reviews for the American College of Cardiology. Quality Insights has been involved in regional health extension center initiatives in Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia, helping thousands of physicians adopt and meaningfully use electronic health records.

Prior to coming to Quality Insights, Dr. Berg served as Chief of Clinical Services at the United States Air Force’s largest and most complex hospital—Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. In this position he oversaw delivery of over one million outpatient and 25 thousand inpatient encounters annually. His accomplishments included merging the professional and clinical services staff of two major medical centers, launching a physician engagement initiative that boosted productivity by 15% in its first year, and chartering 12 organization-wide lean events to improve efficiency and improve health care quality and patient safety.

Previously as Chief of Clinical Services for a Medical Operations Group, he was responsible for setting and ensuring standards of professional practice for over 400 group physicians, and also overseeing process improvement and patient safety activities. He coauthored a five-year, $65 million plan for a congressionally funded diabetes prevention and treatment project and ultimately established a diabetes center of excellence.

Dr. Berg earned his MD at Cornell University Medical College and a Masters in Public Health-health Services Administration at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He completed a residency in Pediatrics at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center and a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Berg is a Fellow the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a Certified Physician Executive. He is licensed to practice in West Virginia, Ohio and Texas.

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Jeff Chungath

Chief Executive Officer
Telligen

Jeff Chungath brings more than 20 years of biomedical, HIT and general management experience in healthcare, consumer goods and telecommunications. At Telligen, he led the design and deployment of several nationwide health information technology solutions. Jeff has an unparalleled perspective on leveraging health information technology and behavior change for transformational population health management, Jeff has been instrumental in driving and supporting solutions that get results for our clients.

Jeff holds a masters in biomedical engineering from the University of Iowa and a masters degree in management from Creighton University.
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Sarah Irsik-Good, MHA

President and CEO at Kansas Foundation for Medical Care, Inc.

Sarah Irsik-Good, MHA is the President and Chief Executive Officer at Kansas Foundation for Medical Care, Inc. (KFMC), a not-for-profit organization focused on improving healthcare quality.  Prior to her appointment as CEO, Sarah served as Director of Quality Improvement and then Vice President for KFMC, providing technical direction and operational leadership for the Medicare QIO work across Kansas.  Sarah has been with KFMC since 2011.  

Prior to joining KFMC, Mrs. Good has served in a variety of healthcare roles with more than 20 years’ experience.  Most recently, she was the Risk and Quality Manager, Education Coordinator and Corporate Compliance Officer for a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital and healthcare delivery system in Rural Kansas.  Sarah has worked in acute care settings (both critical access and larger system affiliated PPS facilities), ambulatory care settings, and both outpatient and inpatient behavioral health.  She earned her Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies with an emphasis in Health Care Operations from Kaplan University and her Master of Health Administration from Ohio University. KFMC has served as the state-based QIO designated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) since the program's national inception, most recently as a local quality improvement partner operating under the Health Quality Innovation Network (HQIN) umbrella. KFMC is also the External Quality Review Organization (EQRO) and Independent Review Organization (IRO) for the state of Kansas. Additionally, KFMC contracts with many private companies to provide health information technology (HIT), quality improvement and practice transformation consulting services, along with a variety of review, abstraction, programming and analytic services across multiple states. Throughout various contracts, KFMC works with healthcare providers and organizations to develop ways to improve care delivery and health consumer processes.
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Linda I. Kluge, RD LD CPHQ

Executive Director, IDIQ, NQIIC

Linda Kluge is the Executive Director for Alliant Quality, a division of Alliant Health Solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and serving 17 states, Alliant Health Solutions is a nonprofit family of companies providing services including utilization management, program integrity and quality assurance in the administration of public sector health care programs.

Alliant Quality is a Network of Quality Innovation and Improvement Contractor (NQIIC) that implements Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts. The contract work supports quality improvement efforts to maximize impacts for QIN-QIO work, End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Networks, hospital-focused large scale improvements, clinician-focused technical assistance, and other quality improvement work.

Kluge has more than 40 years of experience in dietetics and quality management. She has held supervisory, management and clinical roles for a variety of health care providers. She joined Alliant Quality in 2003, then known as the Georgia Medical Care Foundation (GMCF), serving as a quality improvement and education specialist. Kluge then served as a home health/nursing home/quality team manager prior to begin promoted to the director of the QIO and serving as a member of the Alliant executive management team. She has extensive experience working with nursing homes, hospitals, and communities on several initiatives for patient safety, care transitions and beneficiary protection.

Prior to Alliant, Kluge held several positions at Beverly Enterprises, a long-term care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation provider, including serving as a senior director of its Quality Management department. She started her dietetics career as a dietary consultant for Judy Ford Stokes & Associates in Georgia and Florida.

After earning a bachelor of science degree from Hood College in Frederick, MD, Kluge completed the coordinated undergraduate program in dietetics at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. She has received the Distinguished Service Award from Aging Services of Georgia, was the recipient of the President’s Mentor Award from the Florida Dietetic Association and the 2018 American Health Care Association Mary K. Ousley Champion of Quality award. Currently, she is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Quality Leader Alliance and Quality Strategies Workgroup. Linda volunteers with Alliant staff at Open Hand Atlanta and is a dedicated member of the Dunwoody Evening Community Bible Study core leadership team.

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Russell Kohl, MD, FAAFP

Chief Medical Officer & Chief Operating Officer
TMF Health Quality Institute

Russell Kohl, MD, FAAFP is chief medical officer and chief operating officer at TMF Health Quality Institute, a Medicare Quality Improvement Network Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO). In his roles at TMF, Dr. Kohl works across the organization to lead its Innovation and Analytics Team, as well as leading direct technical assistance to over 5,000 medicare providers across the spectrum of healthcare. He has been recognized as a Subject Matter Expert by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the fields of Quality Improvement, Healthcare Technology Security, and Primary Care System Design.

He holds an engineering degree from Oklahoma State University and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, where he also completed his residency. He served as the Paul Tietze Endowed Chair in Family Medicine at the OU School of Community Medicine in Tulsa and was a longterm faculty member at the Ramona Rural Residency Program. His current clinical practice is providing street medicine within homeless encampments throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area with the nonprofit Care Beyond the Boulevard. In addition to his clinical and administrative work, he is the current Speaker of the Congress of Delegates for the American Academy of Family Physicians and is a Colonel and Chief Flight Surgeon in the Air National Guard, where he currently serves as State Air Surgeon for the state of Missouri.
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Steven B. Martin, MHA, CPHQ, FACHE

President & Chief Executive Officer
Constellation Quality Health

Steven B. Martin, MHA, CPHQ, FACHE currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Constellation Quality Health. In this role, he is responsible for the overall strategy, operational success of the organization, and overall mission achievement.

Steven comes to Constellation Quality Health from Atrium Health in Charlotte, NC, where he served as a Vice President within Atrium Health's Quality Division. His responsibilities included the comprehensive oversight for accreditation/certification activities, medical staff services/quality, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (Patient Non-Discrimination), and the Insurance and Payor Quality of Care Complaint process. He served as a member of the Joint Commission's Health Systems Liaison Advisory Council and as Deputy for the COVID-19 Surge Operations Leadership Group at Atrium Health. His additional prior leadership roles include Vice President for Business Development/Senior Consultant at Courtemanche & Associates, Inc., and Director of Quality Management at Carolinas HealthCare System. Steven also served as a Hospital Surveyor with The Joint Commission. During his career in accreditation and certification activities, he led successful efforts in achieving and maintaining premier distinctions from CMS, DNV GL Healthcare, NCQA, The Joint Commission, and many others.

Steven's 25-year healthcare track record relevant to improving quality, driving excellence and his team's outstanding national achievements included winning the 2019 American Hospital Association's Quest for Quality Prize and a two-time winner of The Joint Commission's Ernest Amory Codman Award.

Steven holds a Masters in Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Wofford College. His credentials include Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ).
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Theodore O. Will, MPA, FACHE

Chief Executive Officer
IPRO

Theodore O. Will serves as the Chief Executive Officer of IPRO, one of the largest healthcare evaluation organizations in the country. Mr. Will has been involved in the management of healthcare evaluation operations and establishing quality improvement initiatives for nearly 40 years.

Providing leadership in a number of national and state healthcare organizations, Mr. Will is a Fellow of both the American College of Healthcare Executives  (ACHE) and the New York Academy of Medicine; a member of the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review, and has served on the ACHE Regents Advisory Council. He is a past Board member of the  American Health Quality Association (AHQA), Mr. Will previously held the office of Treasurer of the AHQA Board of Directors and was a member of the Chief Executive Officers’ Section of AHQA.  Mr. Will was awarded the first Annual Healthcare Quality Improvement Distinguished Executive Leadership Award. The award, which is sponsored by the James Q. Cannon Memorial Endowment, was presented at the 1999 American Health Quality Association Annual Session. In 2007, he was honored with a Leon J. Warshaw Leadership in Health Care Award, presented by the Board of Directors of the Northeast Business Group on Health.

Mr. Will received a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, Health Policy, Planning and Administration from New York University.
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AHQA Staff

David McNitt
Interim Manager
dmcnitt@ahqa.org