Jeff Dunaway

Jeff joined Safe and Reliable in March of 2020 and has a primary focus of supporting the High Reliability journey in the VHA. He has practiced as a Registered Nurse for 25 years with the last decade dedicated to the Performance Improvement space. While working at Kaiser Permanente in CA he earned a Lean Green Belt in 2009 and a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma from Villanova University in 2012. Jeff also holds a certification in Change Management. After leaving Kaiser, Jeff consulted within CHS for a year until he accepted the Director of Performance Improvement role at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 2016.

Jeff redesigned the PI department under the CMO office to diversify the skill set to include both clinical and engineering. He introduced the concept and tool of Visual Management to the university, developed standardization within the use and training of the tool, and launched VM in over 60 units in his time there. Jeff designed and taught a Lean Green Belt curriculum for in-house use where it was highly sought after by frontline and faculty alike.

Jeff has led, facilitated, and participated in multiple Value Stream Analysis, Rapid Improvement Events, and over 50 A3 projects in his career. He has helped achieve dramatic ROI improvements in Hand Hygiene, Hospital Acquired Infections, Patient Experience, Patient Safety Indicators, and multiple efficiency metrics within the Emergency Department and Perioperative services.

Jeff is passionate about helping healthcare at both a national and local level through the empowerment of frontline workers and training of executives. He brings a servant leadership model to all his engagements and has a deep understanding that culture eats strategy for lunch every time.