Jennifer Cowel is President of Patton Healthcare Consulting and a patient safety, accreditation and regulatory compliance consultant. Jennifer joined Patton Healthcare Consulting as Vice President and Principal in 2007. Previously, she held a variety of leadership and management roles during her more than 17 years with The Joint Commission, including the role of Director of Service Operations. Prior to 2007, Jennifer was the hospital surveyor representative on the Standards Improvement Initiative (SII) at The Joint Commission. Jennifer was also a nurse surveyor certified to survey the standards in the Hospital Accreditation Manual.
She serves as a member of The Joint Commission Consultant Forum, and is on the Editorial Boards of both Inside Accreditation and Quality (IAQ) and the Accreditation & Quality Compliance Center (AQCC). Ms. Cowel is the author of two reference books designed for both domestic and international hospital managers on the practical application and use of statistics. She has authored numerous articles on accreditation and regulatory compliance issues. She is also a frequent lecturer on patient safety, Joint Commission compliance, and the use of data to improve performance.
Prior to the Joint Commission she was a Senior Consultant with Anderson Consulting in Chicago. Jennifer received her Bachelor of Science Nursing degree from Indiana University and her master’s degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.