Dr. Coffey leads the Center for Clinical Excellence at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, overseeing a systemwide quality improvement program supporting more than 280 active projects, many of which represent cross-program collaborations. The center has trained more than 2,000 learners over 14 years via programs ranging from its quality improvement bootcamp to the Quality Leadership Academy, a hybrid program developed with national and international partners. The center has also contributed to more than 30 peer-reviewed publications in the past five years through its quality improvement publishing program. Dr. Coffey has embedded structured improvement methodologies into daily clinical practice and helped Nationwide Children’s maintain recognition as a top 10 children’s hospital by U.S. News & World Report for 12 consecutive years, as well as No. 1 in Ohio and the Midwest. Prior to joining Nationwide Children’s in 2025, she served as inaugural associate chief medical officer for medical affairs and quality at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. She also spent a decade as medical officer for patient safety and medical lead of the “Caring Safely” program there. She is a professor at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, a certified physician executive and a member of the clinical steering team for the Solutions for Patient Safety network.
