Heather Forbes

Heather Forbes is a senior consultant with Chartis. Heather is a seasoned quality and accreditation professional with over 25 years of comprehensive healthcare experience, including expertise in critical care, regulatory compliance, and quality management. A dedicated nurse leader, she has developed a deep understanding of both inpatient and outpatient clinical services and is highly skilled in creating and implementing sustainable clinical education programs, as well as optimizing clinical workflows and efficiencies.

In addition to her leadership roles, Heather has provided consultative services and education to hospitals and health systems, advising on regulations, standards interpretation, and survey processes. She has also mentored emerging accreditation and regulatory leaders, helping them develop the skills needed to lead their organizations in achieving compliance and enhancing quality performance. Heather is experienced in auditing and monitoring patient safety efforts and has worked closely with organizational leaders to prioritize, address gaps, and strengthen patient safety initiatives. Unique to her nursing background, Heather successfully led a Specialty Pharmacy team through its first URAC and ACHC accreditation. To deepen her knowledge of pharmacy operations, she obtained her pharmacy technician licensure and became a Certified Pharmacy Technician. This additional expertise has allowed her to navigate and manage complex accreditation processes in a multidisciplinary environment.

Heather has multiple publications focused on healthcare accreditation and regulatory readiness and has also presented nationally. Please include professional activities, speaking engagements, research, relevant volunteer work, and publications or authored works. She also maintains her certified emergency nurse certification and is a healthcare accreditation certified professional.

Heather earned her Master of Health Administration Degree from Louisiana State University and her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Northeastern University.