Emerging Leader 2018-2019

Rita Okonkwo

A panel of 5 experts was convened to choose this year’s Emerging Leader, and Rita was chosen because she excellently demonstrated how the Emerging Leader Programme would enable her to contribute to larger quality initiatives in Nigeria. Rita also impressed the panel by demonstrating how she intends to become a champion for quality improvement more broadly, after the programme.

As part of her programme as the 2018-19 ISQua Emerging Leader, Rita Okonkwo will be travelling to the Dartmouth Institute, New Hampshire, USA next month, to learn more about Patient Reported Outcome Measures, and how they can be used to improve care for HIV patients. With the generous support and mentorship of Professor Eugene Nelson and his colleagues, Rita will partake in a bespoke week-long learning programme at Dartmouth and affiliated sites.

We are very grateful for the help and support of Eugene, Joel and the team at Dartmouth and are certain that Rita will find it to be an invaluable experience.

Biography

Rita Okonkwo B.Tech Microbiology (Owerri) MSc Public Health (LSHTM), is the ISQUA emerging leader 2019 award recipient. First working as a medical sales representative presenting evidence from research to clinicians, on benefits of new medications, she contributed to improving patients’ health outcomes, one clinic at a time. Moving on to working with in the banking sector she built on her improvement skills revolutionizing customers experience, building trusting provider client that lead to improved client and provide satisfaction. In 2010 she found an opportunity to live her dream at healthcare improvement by working with the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN.) IHVN is a leading Non-Governmental organization in Nigeria addressing the HIV and Tuberculosis crisis through the implementation of comprehensive HIV care and treatment program and also treatment for Drug resistant Tuberculosis patient.

As Senior Quality Improvement Officer, She supports Bi annual Performance Measurement Evaluations to review quality of service provided to HIV/AIDs and Tuberculosis patient in Nigeria and support the development of effective strategies for improving programs and reaching target populations. Also, as a member of the National Quality Improvement Task Team (NQITT), she contributed to the design of the framework for the Nigeria Quality Management Program on HIV/AIDs and Tuberculosis (NigeriaQual HIV and NigeriaQual Tuberculosis) and support continuous review of this framework for improvement. She continuous to provide support to State Ministries of health and supported facilities across Nigeria in the implementation of the NigeriaQual program. Over the past 8 years, she has taught and mentored teams in over 100 healthcare facilities in the HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis program on Continuous quality improvement, designing and implementing interventions aimed at improving service delivery and health outcomes for patient.

Rita has a long standing interest in Patient Centered Collaborative, exploring Social marketing approach to improving demand for public services and improving patient safety in public health programs. She understands the need to cross pollinate ideas and learn from experts in healthcare Quality improvement and strongly feels the ISQua Emerging Leader Award would further strengthen her capacity to influence change as she climbs the ladder in Public Health program in Nigeria.