Elaine Huggins, RN, MSN, CPHQ, L/SS
Lead Principal Consultant of High-Reliability – Kaiser Permanente Program Office
Elaine Huggins supports Kaiser Permanente’s high-reliability journey at the Program Office in Oakland, CA. She brings 20 years of experience as an army nurse with a master’s degree in nursing administration/education and clinical experience in medical/surgical/oncology/orthopedic/emergency/PACU and psychiatric nursing in both front-line and supervisory positions. She also brings another 10 years in the Department of Defense civilian corps as a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) supporting the DoD healthcare quality mission, which included accreditation, patient safety, and risk management. Supported by the U.S. Air Force, she obtained her Black Belt from the University of Tennessee and returned to focus on process improvement. She rounded out her career before coming to Kaiser with an additional 10 years of consulting as a Lean/Six Sigma Master Black Belt for various organizations, most recently for the Defense Health Agency in strategic planning and HRO performance improvement.
