Hamilton to lead performance excellence at Hershey Medical Center

Maria Hamilton, who has served as the interim senior director, quality systems improvement for Hershey Medical Center since May 2020, will assume the role of the Medical Center’s vice president of performance excellence on Monday, Nov. 22.

Reporting to Dr. Sarah Iriana, senior vice president and chief medical officer, Hamilton will work to drive change and support system growth. In this expanded role, she will oversee operational excellence, regulatory/accreditation and value-based care. She will work to advance strategic initiatives, establish a culture that optimizes team performance to positively affect patient care and ensure the Medical Center continues to meet the highest levels of regulatory and compliance standards.

Hamilton, who joined the Medical Center in 2007, earned her bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and a master’s degree in business administration from Lehigh University. She has held many leadership roles within the organization including oversight of quality, process engineering and redesign and clinical documentation improvement. During past six years, she has served as the co-director of the Health Systems Science Academy, which is a faculty development program in health systems science and systems thinking.

“Maria has been a strong leader and collaborator on many successful quality and patient safety initiatives as well as regulatory accountability efforts,” Iriana said. “She will be a great asset in the position, following Sherri Luchs’ strong leadership to improve operations using data analysis and exceptional project management skills.”

Sherri Luchs, who has served as interim vice president of operational excellence, will return to her role as operational excellence senior consultant T Hershey Medical Center.

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