NASHVILLE, TN — Centerstone, a national leader in behavioral health and addiction services, has promoted Ashley Newton to the newly created role of chief quality and patient safety officer effective July 1, 2022. This will be the long-established organization’s first enterprise-wide quality officer position.
Newton, previously chief operating officer for Centerstone’s Research Institute, will now direct all quality and patient safety programming to ensure compliance and continued process improvement. She will oversee the implementation of policies and procedures aimed at improving patient care and quality improvement throughout Centerstone, ensure continued survey readiness, and provide direct management to quality leaders.
“I am excited about and humbled by the opportunity to serve Centerstone in this new role,” said Newton. “Our quality improvement leaders and teams hold tremendous expertise, and I look forward to working closely with them to evolve and strengthen our science-driven, quality and patient safety practices.”
“Ashley taking on this new role will help with the advancement of quality and research here at Centerstone and how it informs the science of care our clinicians provide,” said Kevin Norton, Centerstone chief operating officer. “It’s an exciting and significant step forward for the organization.”
Since joining Centerstone in 2006, Newton has held multiple clinical and administrative roles, including both operational and behavioral health research and quality leadership positions. Most recently, she served as chief operating officer for Centerstone’s Research Institute and led system-wide quality and patient safety initiatives. Newton holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in strategic leadership from Middle Tennessee State University.
She is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality from the National Association for Healthcare Quality, a Certified Professional in Patient Safety from the Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety, a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, a certified Project Management Professional, and has a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from USF Corporate Training and Professional Education, and a Design Thinking certification from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Centerstone is a nonprofit health system providing mental health and substance use disorder treatments. Services are available nationally through the operation of outpatient clinics, residential programs, the use of telehealth and an inpatient hospital. Centerstone also features specialized programs for the military community, therapeutic foster care, children’s services and employee assistance programs. Centerstone’s Research Institute provides guidance through research and technology, leveraging the best practices for use in all our communities. Centerstone’s Foundation secures philanthropic resources to support the work and mission of delivering care that changes people’s lives.
