Newton Medical Center (NMC) announced that Kesa Easter, current director of home health and outpatient therapy services, will take on the role of associate chief clinical officer (ACCO), effective December 30.
In this expanded role, Easter will provide executive leadership for the following outpatient departments: Newton Home Health, Newton Private Duty, Newton Therapy & Sports Performance (outpatient therapy services), diabetes education, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation and sleep lab.
“Kesa exhibits the vision and strategic thinking to lead outpatient service lines to realized growth, improved efficiency and expand customer and staff satisfaction,” explains Heather Porter, NMC chief clinical officer.
Easter joined NMC nearly six years ago as a Specialist in the Quality department. She has since served as NMC’s Patient and Family Engagement Coordinator and Director of Home Health.
“I am humbled by the faith Newton Medical Center has placed in me,” says Easter. “I look forward to partnering with the staffs and supporting them in their goals.”
Easter holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Human Biology from the University of Kansas and a Master’s in Business Administration from Baker University. Passionate about science and human outcomes, Easter joined NMC in 2012. Her interests in the patient experience lead her to be founding member of the Service Excellence Team at NMC. A belief in teamwork, patient safety and process improvement inspired her to earn her Master Certification in TeamSTEPPS, a nationally recognized system to improve institutional collaboration and communication related to patient safety in 2017. Later that year, Easter earned a professional Certification in Patient Safety (CPPS) through a Kansas Healthcare Collaborative Immersion Initiative scholarship.
