Julie Merz, BSE

Julie Merz is the quality manger for the Heart & Vascular service line at Rush University System for Health. She has over five years of experience in healthcare consulting, hospital operations, hospital project management, and clinical quality outcomes management. As a lean six-sigma blackbelt, her expertise in quality improvement matches well with providers’ clinical knowledge to ensure the best care for patients. Julie’s breadth of experience gives her unique insight into finding quality solutions at Rush Hospital. She is uniquely positioned to present this information as an in-depth financial analysis of national quality registries has not been taken on before. We know quality comes with a cost, but understanding how to invest in quality is not often discussed. This presentation will bring tangible steps to begin this discussion for hospital quality teams.