Diamond Quality Fellow Award recipients share their approaches to healthcare quality, more
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Hear from the recipients of the Diamond Quality Fellow Award, which recognizes staff for their long-standing commitment to quality.
W. Charles Huskins, M.D., Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, and Nancy O'Keefe, Quality Management Services, were named the Diamond Quality Fellow Award winners for 2025. The Diamond Quality Fellow Award recognizes staff for a long-standing commitment to quality improvement and significant contributions to advancing patient care, education and research at Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Huskins and O'Keefe were recognized for their diverse and impactful contributions that have positioned them to lead and sustain quality improvement initiatives. Their exemplary work inspires others and highlights Mayo Clinic's mission of delivering the highest-quality patient care.
Diamond Quality Fellow Award recipients are nominated by their peers and selected by the Quality Academy.
The awards will be presented at the Enterprise Quality Conference in Rochester, July 15–16. Learn more and register to attend the conference.
Dr. Huskins and Nancy O'Keefe share insights on their approaches to healthcare quality.
W. Charles Huskins, M.D., Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic in Rochester
Dr. Huskins is a consultant in Pediatric Infectious Diseases. His dedication to quality improvement was shaped early in his career by Continuous Improvement as an Ideal in Health Care, an article he read in the New England Journal of Medicine. The article was written by Donald Berwick, M.D., a pioneering leader in healthcare quality.
"Dr. Berwick's article brilliantly articulated the compelling need for quality improvement in healthcare," Dr. Huskins says. "I have tried to apply his thinking in my work continually."
Dr. Huskins says he is grateful for the many skilled and dedicated multidisciplinary professionals he has worked with to improve care for children and their families during his tenure of more than 25 years at Mayo Clinic.
"No one does this work by themselves," Dr. Huskins says. "All those I've worked alongside, including Mayo Clinic Children's Quality team, physicians, nursing and administrative leaders, and front-line staff, have done this work together. So, this award is for them as well."
Dr. Huskins chairs the Pediatric Quality Committee and serves on several other Rochester and enterprise committees and subcommittees. As a Silver-certified Mayo Clinic Quality Fellow, he focuses on systems thinking, high reliability and proactive improvement strategies.
Dr. Huskins encourages others interested in bringing quality principles to their work to establish a rapport with people across all disciplines who have key roles in patient care.
"Quality improvement is highly collaborative work," Dr. Huskins says. "Foster relationships and think together systematically and creatively about improving care."
Nancy O'Keefe, Quality Management Services, Mayo Clinic in Florida
Nancy O'Keefe is a manager in Quality Management Services and program administrator of the Opioid Stewardship Program. As a Gold-certified Mayo Clinic Quality Fellow, O'Keefe is passionate about quality and finds joy in sharing quality concepts and tools with staff and students.
"I feel very honored to be recognized with this award," she says. "So many distinguished colleagues have received this award, and it is such a privilege to be part of that group."
She says that improving patient care and patient outcomes inspires her to approach quality improvement with curiosity and a passion for continuous improvement.
"I'm always asking, 'How could we improve? Can we eliminate waste? Can we make it easier to do the right thing?'" she says.
O'Keefe advises others interested in bringing quality principles to their work to be curious.
"Volunteer to work on projects related to improving patient care or outcomes. Speak up with your ideas. Obtain Bronze Quality Fellow certification and work toward Silver and Gold," she notes.