Academy for Quality and Safety Improvement (AQSI)

The program includes QI formal training and a team project. The project allows team members to lead change efforts on QI initiatives that directly impact their practice, colleagues, and patients. AQSI participants are selected through a competitive application process that occurs in each region, please select your region below for more information.

AQSI began on the Central Campus as a collaboration among the Department of Medicine, the Masters Program in Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety offered through the Center for Education in the Health Sciences, and the Northwestern Memorial Hospital Performance Improvement Department, with the first cohort completing the program in spring 2013. Since then the program has expanded to include more departments and a diverse group of professions. In 2017, AQSI expanded to the North and West regions of Northwestern Medicine. In 2020, AQSI expanded to the Northwest region of Northwestern Medicine. To learn more about each AQSI program, click on the region below.

Medical Directors:

Kevin O'Leary, MD
Executive Medical Director

Abra Fant, MD
Central Region Medical Director

Tanner Colegrove, MD
North/Northwest Region Medical Director

Amir Marouni, MD
West Region Medical Director

Performance Improvement:

Mark Schumacher
SVP of Performance

Katelyn Dienes
Program Director, Performance TCM

Claire Knoten
Program Manager, Performance TCM

Lizzy Malone
Program Coordinator, Performance TCM

Please contact us at aqsi@nm.org with any questions about the program.

In 2015, the American Association for Physician Leadership awarded AQSI the Leape Ahead Award. View the story and watch the award video.

In 2013, AQSI was featured as an example of a program meeting Northwestern Medicine's exceptional care goal.

All of the AQSI participants lead a quality improvement project. The projects are aligned with NM's goals and standards, but they are projects that are self-identified by the participants. The projects are such an important part of the AQSI experience and are what the participants spend the most effort on. All of the AQSI Alumni and the project titles are listed on their regional pages. Please visit the Central, North and West Regions pages to view the past projects.