Karen H. Timmons, MA, MM

President and Chief Executive Officer
Joint Commission Resources and Joint Commission International

Karen H. Timmons is the president and chief executive officer of Joint Commission Resources, Inc. (JCR) and Joint Commission International (JCI).  JCR and its international division, JCI, are not-for-profit organizations working to improve health care quality and patient safety in over 80 countries around the world. JCI is leading health care improvement worldwide through its work with The Joint Commission as a Collaborating Center for Patient Safety Solutions, development of international standards for quality and safety, development of international patient safety goals, and by offering domestic and international consulting, international accreditation, education, publications, Continuous Survey Readiness, and e-Learning.

Under her leadership, JCI is developing an international collaborative network to improve patient safety.  Ms. Timmons is the primary liaison with the World Health Organization (WHO), which in 2005, designated The Joint Commission and JCI as the first Collaborating Centre for Patient Safety dedicated to the development of patient safety solutions.  She chairs the International Steering Committee of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Patient Safety Solutions, and leads the JCI Regional Advisory Groups in the Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.  Ms. Timmons also spearheaded the establishment of the Joint Commission International Center for Patient Safety, and is a past board member and Treasurer for the International Society of Quality Assurance (ISQua). 
 
Ms. Timmons has served as chair of the World Health Organization’s HIV Quality of Care Working Group on HIV-AIDS and was appointed to serve on the Scientific Council of ANAES, the French National Agency for Accreditation and Evaluation in Health. She is also past chair of ISQua’s Agenda for Leadership in Programs for Healthcare Accreditation (ALPHA) Council.  The ALPHA Council was the first worldwide body to bring together national and other major health care accreditation organizations to develop a global approach to aligning health care standards and accreditation processes.  In addition to her international involvement, Ms. Timmons is a former member of the National Advisory Board for the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut and she served on the Parents’ Board of Directors for DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.

Ms. Timmons earned a master of management degree from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., and a master of arts degree from Fairfield University, Connecticut. She obtained a bachelor of science degree from the University of Connecticut.