Craig Clapper, PE, CRE, CMQ is an industry leader in high reliability transformation. A consulting engineer who specializes in improving human performance, faculty and event analysis, safety culture improvement, he has helped countless organizations adopt high reliability principles over the past 25 years.
High Reliability Healthcare Academy
January 7, 2026 - February 25, 2026
Wednesdays 12-1 pm ET
Virtual
A Leadership Development Program
Systems and processes are the very beginning of the journey toward highly reliable organizations. Taking your organization to the next level requires a culture shift, with everyone in the organization adopting a different way of thinking and working. Fortunately, many healthcare organizations are on the journey to High Reliability, and you can learn from their successes (and failures).
The High Reliability Healthcare Academy (HRHA) showcases the myriad ways High Reliability Organizing (HRO) looks in practice across the United States, with an emphasis on how unique populations and other contextual variables (e.g., organizational culture, type of organization, or external factors) impact fidelity to the High Reliability framework. You will learn by doing, with a case study model in each class.
What You'll Learn
This interactive virtual program will break down complex principles into more easily accessible concepts and practice through the demonstration and application of High Reliability Organizing (HRO) principles.
You will learn hands-on techniques to engage with your organization on the journey to becoming a highly reliable organization.
Course Directors
Mary Reich Cooper, MD, JD is a physician-executive and longtime advocate for quality and safety, brings decades of experience leading population health programs and teaching healthcare improvementis. Dr. Cooper is Associate Professor at Jefferson College of Population Health and Program Director for Healthcare Administration, Healthcare Quality and Safety, and Operational Excellence.
Program Outcomes
- Develop working knowledge of High Reliability Organizing principles and how they apply to healthcare.
- Gain insight into how different organization have adopted (and adapted) High Reliability Organizing principles.
- Discover how organizational size, geographic area, populations served, culture and leadership can impact the effectiveness of HRO implementations.
- Build and bolster knowledge of fundamental tools and design novel opportunities that create, promote, and support 24-hour reliability for improved care, culture, and operations.
Presenters
Tracy Boggs, MBA is a Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness Consultant at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, where she empowers leaders to navigate complex challenges and foster environments where people feel valued and supported. Her work centers on cultivating respectful workplaces and advancing career development programs that help ensure the healthcare workforce reflects and honors the patients and communities it serves.
Stephen Jones, MD is the Executive Director of Patient Safety and Quality for Johns Hopkins Medicine at Sibley Hospital. He was previously Senior Advisor and CMO for the Just Culture Company, and former Medical Director of Safety for the Yale New Haven Health System. Dr. Jones has held numerous leadership positions and is a nationally recognized expert in safety science and Just Culture in high-risk, high-consequence organizations.
Dan Hyman, MD, MMM is an experienced health care quality improvement and safety leader who previously served as Chief Safety and Quality Officer at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Children's Hospital Colorado. He has also held national leadership roles with Children's Hospitals Solutions for Patient Safety and Children's Hospital Association. He developed and teaches a course on leadership of quality in health systems for Penn's Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Safety Program. He previously co-founded and co-directed the Academic Pediatric Association (APA) Quality and Safety Improvement Scholars Program.
Byron Scott, MD, MBA, FACEP, FAAPL is a physician leader with 35 years of healthcare industry experience. He serves as a healthcare executive, advisor, consultant, and educator. A board-certified emergency medicine physician, he has expertise in operations, quality, health equity, physician leadership, and governance. He currently serves as President and Chief Operating Officer at Direct Relief, a global humanitarian medical aid organization. He previously was Deputy Chief Health Officer at IBM Watson Health and Associate Chief Medical Officer at Truven Health Analytics, prior to acquisition by IBM. He also worked for EmCare, a physician practice management company, for over 20 years in various leadership, executive, and clinical roles. He practiced emergency medicine for over 25 years, including 2 years as a faculty member at the Orlando Regional Medical Center Emergency Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Scott is an Adjunct Teaching Assistant Professor at Jefferson College of Population Health.
Patrice Tremoulet, PhD is the director of human factors engineering at ECRI. She is a cognitive psychologist and human factors engineer with over three decades of experience conducting applied research that uses information about human physical and cognitive capabilities and limitations to design and evaluate systems to improve safety, productivity, and health.
April Taylor, MS, MHA, FACHE, CMQ/CLSSBB, CPHQ, CPPS is the Chief Operating Officer for The Johns Hopkins Hospital, a 1,100-bed academic medical center located in Baltimore, Maryland. In her role, April works closely with physician and administrative leaders across the hospital to drive operational excellence, helping to ensure that care is safe, of the highest quality, and accessible to patients. Prior to her role as the COO, April served as Vice President of Quality and Safety at Johns Hopkins Hospital. A trained statistician with extensive experience applying performance excellence strategies, April has a long career in quality and patient safety, spanning 25-years.
Rebeca Almanza, MBA, LPN, CPQ is a healthcare executive and educator with over 13 years of experience in population health, regulatory compliance, and healthcare quality. As a senior director of quality education, she leads enterprise-wide initiatives that support regulatory alignment, organizational training, and health plan performance. Rebeca is an adjunct instructor at Jefferson College of Population Health.
Schedule, Speakers & Session Information
Weekly sessions will feature industry leaders who will share their organizational journey to high reliability — how principles are applied in a variety of healthcare organizations, barriers to adoption, and practical application tools and techniques. Each short didactic session will be integrated into activities that are hands on and designed to reinforce your knowledge.
| Date | Session | Presenter |
| 1/7/26 | High Reliability Healthcare Framework | Craig Clapper, PE, CRE, CMQ |
| 1/14/26 | Leadership & Culture | Tracey Boggs, MBA |
| 1/21/26 | Preoccupation with Failure | Stephen Jones, MD |
| 1/28/26 | Commitment to Resilience | Dan Hyman, MD, MMM |
| 2/4/26 | Deference to Expertise | Byron Scott, MD, MBA |
| 2/11/26 | Reluctance to Simplify Interpretations | Patrice Tremoulet, PhD |
| 2/18/26 | Sensitivity to Operations | April Taylor, MS, MHA, FACHE, CMQ/OE, CLSSBB, CPHQ, CPPS |
| 2/25/26 | Facilitating Change | Rebeca Almanza, MBA, LPN, CPQ |
Pricing
$1,000 per person
Special discounts are available for Jefferson employees and affiliates. Contact jcph@jefferson.edu for more information.
Registration fee includes:
- Session content, materials and moderated interactions for six months following the program
- Access to our High Reliability Organizing video series
- A signed copy of Craig Clapper's book, Zero Harm
Registration
Who Should Attend
Teams or individuals (including clinical, operational, and administrative leaders) and stakeholders from healthcare organizations who are exploring how to implement High Reliability Organizing or want to learn how to take their investment in HRO to the next level.
Program Value
Participants develop strategies and skills that address real-world challenges using curated healthcare related topics and content, exercises, and simulations.
- Personalized: Our live online instructor-led sessions and a limited class size enable you to engage and build relationships with colleagues and faculty to become a part of a supportive learning community.
- Experiential: Interactive group discussions, exercises and simulations provide you with opportunities to fully unpack the concepts discussed and practice new skills.
- Customized: Relevant healthcare topics and content align with your development and have direct application to self-reported challenges for immediate organizational impact.
- Community: Participants will have access to the course material and a moderated discussion board for 6 months following the program. Upon successful completion of the 8-week program, participants will receive a Certificate of Completion through the Jefferson College of Population Health. Students may also elect to receive a digital Credly badge upon completion.
- Buy-in from your Boss: Contact us at jcph@jefferson.edu for information on how to get buy-in from your leadership.
The Jefferson Difference
- Sessions include case studies and real-world workplace examples
- Network with and learn from other participants facing similar challenges
- Come away with the skills and knowledge to help focus your organization’s quality and safety efforts
- Online access to coursework and materials, during and for 6 months after the program
Questions? Contact jcph@jefferson.edu.