Atlantic Health System finds talented executive dedicated to sustaining excellence in clinical quality and patient safety.

When Atlantic Health System (AHS) needed to find a passionate and knowledgeable executive to fill its Vice President of Quality and Safety position, they turned to B.E. Smith. In just four months, B.E. Smith presented candidate Donna Lawson and AHS selected her as its ideal executive for quality and safety. 

On April 15, Donna started her position with AHS, tasked with leading and developing a comprehensive and unified program that implements AHS’s vision of excellence in clinical quality outcomes and patient safety.

Based in Morristown, New Jersey, AHS is one of the leading non-profit healthcare systems in the state and features state-of-the-art equipment and comfortable, family-friendly environments across five hospitals. The world-class hospitals are on the forefront of medicine and continually set standards for quality healthcare, as evident by its recognition by Fortune 100 as a great place to work 11 years running. One of the system’s hospitals, Morristown Medical Center was named the No. 1 hospital in New Jersey.

AHS’s pedigree was just one of the reasons that attracted Donna to the position. 

“It was divine intervention: I had the skillset, it was a great system, it’s a good fit for me, and I was a good fit for them,” she said. 

In this role, Donna will work to develop quality policies, programs, and initiatives to improve overall quality of patient care services. 

“I had the benefit this week of going to the organization’s leadership development series, and the key touchpoints were access, affordability, and inclusiveness,” she said. “We are all contributors and we want to make sure everyone feels included. I want to be a good partner and team member to help continue the success of the organization.”

Donna has spent the past 18 years in complex healthcare systems of similar size and scope to AHS, and brings academic medical center experience. 

Founded in 1978, B.E. Smith is the trusted partner in Interim Leadership and Executive Search solutions for organizations and healthcare professionals across the healthcare continuum. Exclusive to the healthcare industry, our personalized placement methodology best matches professionals to organizations enabling them to improve clinical, financial, and operational performance. Since 2000, B.E. Smith has supported more than 6,000 leaders advance their careers.