Jennifer Smith Named Chief Operating Officer for Lifeline of Ohio
Lifeline of Ohio is pleased to announce the selection of Jennifer Smith as the next chief operating officer for the organization.
Smith brings more than 15 years of experience in quality assurance, compliance and process improvement to her work in the healthcare field. Her specialized professional background includes roles in blood banking, tissue banking and organ procurement organizations. Currently she serves as Director of Quality and Regulatory Affairs for Lifeline of Ohio, the organ procurement organization serving 78 hospitals throughout 38 counties in Central and Southeastern Ohio and two counties in West Virginia. In addition to leading teams across multiple departments, she directs the efforts of the Clinical Quality Improvement initiative, the Organizational Safety Program and serves as Lifeline of Ohio’s Corporate Compliance Officer.
“I am fortunate to come to work every day and help facilitate lifesaving and healing gifts through organ, eye and tissue donation. I look forward to my next role working across all Lifeline of Ohio departments to serve our donor families, recipients, healthcare partners and communities in a new way,” says Smith.
Smith began her career as a medical technologist in transfusion medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital followed by two years of service as a Laboratory Technologist II in Quality Control for the American Red Cross in Columbus. Since 2007, she has served as manager and then director of Lifeline of Ohio’s Quality and Regulatory Affairs department, establishing herself as a leader for regulatory guidelines and compliance standards on both a state and national level. Smith has extensive experience in quality auditing with the FDA, CMS and other regularly agencies and serves on numerous quality councils to shape industry best practices.
She earned a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology from Kent State University and is certified through the American Society of Clinical Pathologist MT (ASCP). She is a certified quality auditor through the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB), a certified tissue banking specialist and a member of the American Society of Quality.
Smith is a marathon runner and resides in Columbus with her husband, two children and dog, Annie.