Our Team

Tom Evans has been President and Chief Executive Officer of the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative since 2005. Dr. Evans received a bachelor and master of arts degree from Drake University. He received his medical degree from the University of Iowa in 1983 and completed his Family Medicine residency at Broadlawns Medical Center in 1986. He practiced family medicine for thirteen years before serving as chief medical officer for the Iowa Health System from 1999 to 2005. Dr. Evans has served as President of both the Iowa Medical Society and the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians. He has also served on the delegations for both the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Evans is a faculty member with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the College of Medicine at Des Moines University and the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Karthik Abbineni is a data analyst at Iowa Healthcare Collaborative. His focus is on data analytics and visualization to help hospitals, clinicians and communities improve the quality of healthcare while reducing the cost. Abbineni received a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communications from Vellore Institute of Technology, India and a master’s degree in information systems from Iowa State University. He has extensive analytics experience and knowledge including requirement analysis, outlier detection and descriptive, prescriptive and predictive analytics to identify the best possible solutions with meaningful information.

Jen Barber is a community health improvement consultant at Iowa Healthcare Collaborative. She serves as a subject matter consultant, providing technical assistance to healthcare professionals and other community stakeholders regarding topics related to behavioral health and substance use disorders. Barber collaborates with partners to develop and implement project specific education and training to enhance the learners’ skills set and ultimately improve patient care. She has over twenty-five years of behavioral health experience working in various levels of care. She is passionate about helping individuals seek and receive substance use and/or mental health prevention, treatment, or recovery services. Barber received her Bachelor of Science in Corrections with a focus in Chemical Dependency Studies from Mankato State University and Master of Science Management from Kaplan University. She has been serving as an international alcohol and drug counselor since 2002 and is a certified lean healthcare professional.

Jennifer Brockman is the Chief Clinical Program Officer at Iowa Healthcare Collaborative. She has more than 15 years of clinical nursing experience including long-term care, medical, surgical and emergency room, home care and hospice, cardiac rehabilitation, oncology, quality management and utilization review and infection prevention. Her areas of expertise include infection prevention, hospital wide process improvement and hospital quality reporting. She received a bachelor’s degree in science and nursing from the University of Iowa and received a master’s in healthcare administration from Walden University.

Kathy Collins serves as a Clinical Improvement Consultant (CIC) with an expertise in informatics at Iowa Healthcare Collaborative. Collins works with the IHC Data Team and the Compass Hospital Quality Improvement Network CICs to assure hospitals are submitting accurate and timely data. She also creates reports and dashboards with analysis to assist the hospitals and CICs in creating data-driven decisions and enhance their improvement efforts. Her clinical background includes ambulatory care, utilization review and case management, long-term care as both a staff nurse and director of nursing, obstetrics and medical surgical units as well as infection prevention. She has led quality for over twenty-five years in both critical access and prospective payment system hospitals. Collins holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Iowa and is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality/CPHQ and Patient Safety/CPPS.

Lana Comstock is a Clinical Improvement Consultant for the Hospital Quality Initiatives Department at Iowa Healthcare Collaborative (IHC). Her responsibilities include coordination and implementation of quality improvement initiatives. She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Science and Master of Science in Nursing Education from Graceland University. Comstock has nursing experience in various clinical settings and is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality/CPHQ and Patient Safety/CPPS. She also holds additional certifications in public management, Lean Six Sigma as well as diversity, equity, inclusion/DEI.

Charisse Coulombe is a Director for the Hospital Quality Initiatives Department at Iowa Healthcare Collaborative (IHC). Coulombe provides oversight of the IHC hospital focused federal and state projects, leads the delivery of programs and activities as well as engages states and hospitals for sustainable healthcare transformation. Coulombe holds over twenty years of experience in healthcare and has accomplished the successful completion of state and federal programs including having led one of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Engagement Networks and one of the CMS Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks. Coulombe holds a Master in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, Master of Science in Biology from Western Illinois University and is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality/CPHQ and Certified Professional in Patient Safety/CPPS.

Amanda Donlon is a Clinical Improvement Consultant for the Hospital Quality Initiatives Department at Iowa Healthcare Collaborative. She assists with the development and delivery of education, is responsible for the coordination and implementation of quality improvement initiatives and provides technical assistance to hospitals.

Donlon holds twenty years of experience in rural healthcare including inpatient nursing, diabetes education and quality services management. Donlon has led initiatives in reducing falls, establishing safety culture concepts and improving handoff communication. Donlon holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Mounty Mercy University and is a Certified Professional in Patient Safety/CPPS, Healthcare Quality/CPHQ and Diabetes Care and Education Specialist.

Chris Evans is the Chief Operating Officer at Iowa Healthcare Collaborative (IHC). In this role, he oversees IHC internal operations and support processes. Prior to his IHC role, he held various positions in healthcare administration for CHI Health, including division director – emergency medicine and security service lines, vice president-operations, and director – ancillary and support services. Evans received his Masters of Health Administration from the University of Iowa and Bachelor of Arts in Business Marketing from Bethel University. He is board-certified by the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Lauren Fidler is a Data Analyst for the Research and Analytics Team at Iowa Healthcare Collaborative (IHC) and provides data analysis for multiple teams within IHC by utilizing R and SQL then makes recommendations based on findings. Fidler holds five years of experience in data analytics and has accomplished leading diverse projects across multiple teams and creating visualizations to aid findings. Fidler holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Analytics from The University of Iowa.

Lexie Hudachek is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator for Iowa Healthcare Collaborative (IHC). In this role, she uses her expertise to ensure outreach and marketing needs are met. She also collaborates with committees on in-person and virtual events as well as provides marketing analytic reports and promotion strategies. Her efforts help reach IHC target audiences and provide enrolled IHC program participants with valuable tools and resources. Lexie supports all IHC department programs, which includes the Compass Hospital Quality Improvement Contractor Program, Compass Opioid Stewardship Certificate Program, Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, the Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project Flex Program and the IHC Education Department. Within each program, she takes an active seat in robust meetings with IHC staff and collaborators, state partners and external program leaders. Lexie earned both her Bachelor and Master of Arts in Communication Studies Degree from the University of Northern Iowa. 

Christy Mintah is a Clinical Improvement Consultant (CIC) for the Hospital Quality Initiatives Department at Iowa Healthcare Collaborative and provides guidance and mentorship in quality and patient safety improvement initiatives. Mintah holds twenty-seven years of experience in nursing and has accomplished leading many quality projects and root cause analysis on opportunity areas in the hospital setting such as pressure ulcer prevention, positive patient identification, readmissions and adverse drug events. Mintah holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Mount Marty University and is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety. She was chosen as a participant in the first group of National Quality Mentors with the National Rural Health Association. She has spent her career working within the critical access hospital environment.

Damon is the Director of Information Technology and Compliance and Security Officer for the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative. Damon leads the Research and Analytics Center and the Information Technology Team. Morrison holds twenty-nine years of experience in healthcare information technology. Morrison holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis from the University of Arkansas.

Stephanie Muller is Iowa Healthcare Collaborative’s director of human resources. She is responsible for the overall development and management of IHC’s growing human resources department, including implementing HR practices that support IHC’s long-term strategic objectives and enhancing the corporate culture. With more than 18 years of extensive hands-on experience leading HR initiatives, in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors, Muller brings expertise in employee engagement, rewards and recognition, talent acquisition and retention and compensation and benefits administration. She received her bachelor’s degree in public agency administration from Northern Arizona University and holds certifications as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) (from the Human Resources Certification Institute), a Certified Professional in Human Resources (SHRM-CP) (from the Society for Human Resource Management) and a Certified Professional in Human Resources (IPMA-CP) (from the International Public Management Association for Human Resources).

Lori Paulson is a Data Analyst for the Research and Analytics Department at Iowa Healthcare Collaborative (IHC), assists with the IHC data portal as well as supports the development and publishing of REAL Reports and Low Performer Reports. Paulson holds over thirty years of experience in healthcare data analytics and has expertise working with commercial and Medicare health claims data, patient safety and experience surveys and process improvement initiatives. Paulson holds a Master’s of Science from Iowa State University and is trained in Tableau, SQL and R.

Amber Rizzo is the Education Coordinator at the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative. She leads the education department at IHC by providing oversight to internal and external partners collaborating to develop and execute exceptional education. She is responsible for planning and implementing two in person conferences every year along with an Exhibition Hall and Poster Symposium. She also manages IHC's Office of Continuing Medical Education (CME) with obtaining and maintaining accreditation status; writing for grants that will assist in funding the education department. Rizzo holds over 18 years of front-line healthcare and clinical education experience in numerous areas: Intensive Care, Emergency Room, Recovery Room; with instructor roles in ACLS, PALS, BLS, CRRT, Cardiac Rhythm Recognition, Simulation, Sepsis, IP, Ventilator Management, and Crucial Conversations. She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Rizzo is dedicated to advancing safety, equity, and quality of patient care across the healthcare continuum.

Sharmie Russell serves as the Operations Coordinator and Executive Assistant at Iowa Healthcare Collaborative (IHC). She joined the IHC team in March of 2012. Sharmie handles the day-to-day operations of IHC, assists with human resources, information technology/IT, the Accounts Payable Departments and holds many other various duties. She is the mother of five adult children, a Mema to many grandchildren and is a retired cosmetologist.

Cari Seddon is the Director of Community Quality Initiatives at Iowa Healthcare Collaborative. In this role, she supports collaborative clinical and community partnerships driving sustainable healthcare quality improvements with focused attention on providing person-centered care throughout Iowa. Seddon is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist. She is six sigma lean certified and has over twenty-two years of experience in patient care, population health and project management. Seddon received her Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Master of Science in Family and Consumer Science from Western Michigan University.

Jillian Schneider is a Clinical Improvement Consultant for the Ambulatory Team at Iowa Healthcare Collaborative. Schneider is responsible for the coordination and implementation of quality improvement initiatives. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of Maryland University College. Schneider has extensive knowledge in healthcare having facilitated quality improvement and patient safety initiatives with ambulatory practices throughout the United States. She has overseen the development of two quality improvement web-based tools.

Adewale (Wale) Tychus is a Project Coordinator for the Ambulatory Team at Iowa Healthcare Collaborative. Tychus provides data analytics support, reviews measurements and evaluations, organizes meeting collaborations, assists with education material and communication development strategies, and tracks the success of project deliverables. Tychus holds ten years of experience in implementing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services healthcare quality improvement initiatives and task orders. He has trained over 1,500 Medicare beneficiaries and twelve hospitals in diabetes/chronic disease self-management principles and sustainable patient education models respectively. Tychus holds a Master of Public Health from George Washington University and is a Certified Health Education Specialist and Professional in Healthcare Quality.