Anthony J. Passannante Jr., MD, FACC, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President, Quality and Safety

Anthony J. Passannante Jr., MD, FACC, is Chief Medical Officer at Saint Peter’s Healthcare System in New Brunswick, NJ, as of April 2011. Dr. Passannante serves as administrator over Quality Management, the Medical Staff Office, the Department of Research, the Institutional Review Board (IRB), and the Medical Library at Saint Peter’s. He is also the President of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System Physician Associates, P.C.

He had joined the team at Saint Peter’s University Hospital, a member of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System, in 2009 as the Director of Performance Improvement & Safety for the Department of Medicine. In 2010, he was named Co-Chief Quality Officer for the Saint Peter’s Healthcare System, and in 2011, he became Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Passannante is an invasive cardiologist at the Cardio Metabolic Institute in Somerset, NJ. He formerly served as Managing Partner and President for over 20 years at the New Brunswick Cardiology Group, PA. He also served as an elected member of the Medical Executive Committee at Saint Peter’s University Hospital for nine terms and held the position of President of the Medical Staff.

In February 2011 he became Clinical Assistant Professor for the Department of Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. He was also named by the Commissioner of Health in 2011 to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS), Quality Improvement Advisory Committee (QIAC).

Dr. Passannante received his Bachelor’s Degree in Biology with a concentration in neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania and went on to earn his Doctor of Medicine Degree from The Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency Training at Saint Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center in Manhattan. He then went on to complete a Fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-The Rutgers Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. He is a Fellow in the American College of Cardiology.

Dr. Passannante is currently working toward his Master’s Degree in Healthcare Quality and Safety Management at the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Joan Gleason Scott, PhD, RN, Assistant Vice President, Quality and Safety

Joan has administrative responsibility for Quality and Safety Management, The Institutional Review Board, the Office of Research and the Library of the Medical Sciences for Saint Peter’s Healthcare System.

Joan received her Bachelor of Science in nursing degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University, her graduate degree in Nursing Administration from New York University, and her doctorate in Nursing Administration from the University of Pennsylvania, with related field studies at the Wharton School of Business. She has held various positions as a nurse administrator in Patient Care Services, Quality and also as a lecturer at Yale University School of Nursing. 

Linda Vescia, RN, BSN, MSN, Manager of Quality and Safety

Linda supports the assistant vice president of Quality and Safety, collaborating and setting performance Improvement priorities by collecting, using data and providing the resources needed to achieve improvement.  She ensures individuals in the organization engage in performance improvement activities.

Linda is board certified in medical-surgical nursing and during her 30-year career in health care has held various management and administrative positions in quality, risk and clinical practice.  She has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a Master of Science In Nursing and Leadership in Healthcare Systems degree from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.

 Andrew Sylvester, Performance Improvement Coordinator

Andrew’s main area of focus is managing the Crimson Continuum of Care software, coordinating the newly formed Gainsharing Project and working with the hospital’s residency programs to raise awareness of quality and safety. Andrew is the former coordinator of Collaborative Projects in the Institute for Quality and Patient Safety at the New Jersey Hospital Association. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

 Karen Durik RN, BSN, Nurse Analyst

Karen oversees the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) core measures and the Outpatient Pain Management measures. She supports physician peer review for the Department of Surgery.

 Susan Bahrt RN, Nurse Analyst

Sue works as a liaison for McCarrick Care Center, supporting Physician Peer Review for multiple departments, and serving as a facilitator for Sepsis Task Force and overseeing the tracking of Pneumonia Core Measures. Sue has worked in federal regulation compliance in long term care facilities in New Jersey, certification in infection control, clinical research, quality data abstraction and analysis, and data analysis for quality initiatives.

 Grace Pugh, RN, Coordinator Performance Improvement

Grace has been a part of Saint Peter’s University Hospital the past 20-plus years, first as a staff nurse in the Intensive Care Unit and various medical/surgical nursing units.  Grace works with the Care Transitions Team to reduce readmissions by providing efficient and evidence based care. She works closely with the departments of Anesthesiology and Pediatrics and on various projects such as the Core Measures and Stroke Initiative. 

Grace received her nursing diploma from the Muhlenberg Hospital School of Nursing, Plainfield, NJ. She has an Associate’s Degree from Union College in Schenectady, New York.  Grace was honorably discharged from the United States Army Reserve with the rank of Second Lieutenant.

Linda Moriarty, Administrative Assistant

Linda supports the assistant vice president of Quality and Safety.