Joanne Ashton, RN, MN, Consultant, Joint Commission International
Joanne Ashton’s career in the health care field has spanned more than 25 years. She has held various positions throughout her career including critical care nurse, nursing instructor, respiratory clinical nurse specialist, chief nursing officer, vice president of patient care services and health care consultant. She worked for over 20 years at Shawnee Mission Medical Center in Kansas City where she led a patient care redesign initiative. In addition, Ms. Ashton is a noted lecturer and author on various topics.
Ms. Ashton served in the Peace Corps in Guatemala from 1996-98 as a community health care volunteer. When her service ended, she decided to continue her work in international health care. Accordingly, Ms. Ashton has been a Senior Quality Advisor for Joint Commission International since 1998. She has worked in the Quality Assurance Project under a USAID contract to provide consultation with the goal of improving health care services in developing countries. She has assisted in improving infection prevention practices in Eritrea, the redesign of obstetrical services in hospitals in Guatemala, quality improvement activities in remote primary health care regions in Guatemala, redesign of the documentation system in hospitals in Ecuador, and improving the quality of reproductive health care of adolescents in Africa and Jamaica.
Ms. Ashton received her baccalaureate and master’s degrees in nursing from Kansas University Medical Center, where she has been recognized as the distinguished nursing alumnae of the year. She has been listed in Who’s Who in American Nursing on four occasions.