Senior Coordinator, Clinical Quality and Patient Safety
The Ohio State University
Kristen Cummings is a Senior Coordinator, Clinical Quality and Patient Safety at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M University College Station in 2008 and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Texas Women’s University in 2012. She started her nursing career as a Labor & Delivery Nurse at Parkland Health in Dallas, Texas in September of 2012, where she served as an inaugural member of the Peri-Operative Team. She later initiated the Perinatal Clinical Outreach Programs for Maternal and Neonatal Services as part of state guidelines to curb maternal morbidity and mortality in Texas. The Perinatal Outreach Program was designated as a “Best Practice” during the 2019 Maternal Levels of Care Designation Survey after initiating the program only 11 months earlier.
Kristen is board certified in electronic fetal monitoring, and obstetric and neonatal quality and safety. She has taken a special interest in decreasing the number of and increased safety reporting of needlestick injuries in the Operating Room during her time supporting Peri-Operative Services as a Patient Safety Clinical Risk Manager.
Throughout her tenure as a Patient Safety Clinical Risk Manager, Kristen has operationalized new reports to drive quality initiatives. She has been part of several large-scale solutions to safety events and conducts necessary risk assessments in supporting areas. Kristen has also ensured compliance with all relevant regulations and guidelines set forth by the FDA. Kristen recently led the Parkland Health in the UT Southwestern (UTSW) Performance Excellence & Quality Management Program. This quality project titled, “A Pause for Safety: Increasing Needlestick Reporting in the Operating Room”, was recently selected as a Parkland Health Magnet Story honoring Quality Improvement Projects and a 2nd Place Poster Presentation Finalist at UT Southwestern Medical Center’s 2025 Celebration of Excellence Awards.