Treasa (Susie) K. Leming-Lee

Bio

Dr. Treasa "Susie" Leming-Lee is a retired Associate Professor and former Director of Organizational Performance Improvement at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN) in Nashville, Tennessee. She currently serves as an adjunct professor of nursing at VUSN. Dr. Leming-Lee earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice in Health Systems Management from Vanderbilt University and holds certifications as a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) and in certificate in Lean Healthcare.

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With an extensive background in performance improvement and process redesign, Dr. Leming-Lee is a nationally recognized expert and consultant in the development and implementation of quality infrastructures across healthcare systems. She holds professional memberships in numerous organizations, including ASQ, AHI, NAHQ, TAHQ, THA, ANA, TNA, AONL, AACN, NLN, NAHE, ACHE, and Sigma Theta Tau. Her service includes appointments as a Board Examiner for the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (state Baldrige Award) and as a board member of the Tennessee Association for Healthcare Quality.

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Her systems-based practice and scholarly expertise have consistently driven transformational change in underperforming healthcare processes, always advocating for the highest standards of patient safety and the sustainable implementation of improved care models. Dr. Leming-Lee has contributed to local, state, and national improvement initiatives and has published work cited across diverse disciplines, including nursing, engineering, and pharmacy.

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Dr. Leming-Lee's extensive service to the community on the state level was highlighted by her tenure on the Tennessee Action Coalition, affiliated with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In this role, she ensures that nurse leaders under 40 across Tennessee gain the necessary knowledge for intentional career growth, aiming for long-term healthcare improvements that extend beyond the state to impact the entire U.S. healthcare system.  Her dedication to service also extends to the Vanderbilt University community where she served on multiple committees. She led the VUSN Bylaws Redesign Task Force and chaired the inaugural VUSN Faculty Assembly Bylaws and Governance Committee, establishing a procedure foundation for future committee work and a Policy Review Subcommittee. Furthermore, she has served for three years on the Vanderbilt University Faculty Senate and co-chaired the VU Faculty Senate Ethics Committee. Additionally, she serves on the Tennessee Nursing Association’s GOVA Committee and the Tennessee Nurse Association’s PAC, serving as co-chair, and has serve on the Tennessee Nursing Association Nominations Committee.

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She is co-editor of Clinics of North America's "Quality Improvement for Nurses” and co-author of a comprehensive chapter in Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing: Foundations, Skills, and Role. Dr. Leming-Lee has served on numerous institutional committees and task forces, including efforts to redesign faculty workload processes, streamline clinical placement systems, and improve governance and policy review structures. Her leadership also supported emergency preparedness, including her facilitation role in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) Eboli Project.

Nationally, Dr. Leming-Lee has also contributed significantly to the Joint Commission’s Surgical Site Infection Prevention Collaborative and the Colorectal Infection Site, where she helped create new standards of care, including process flow maps, standardized skin preps, electronic surgical checklists, and surgical protocols. She played a vital role in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's "Last Acts" project, a national coalition dedicated to improving end-of-life care through the establishment of sustainable policies.

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At the international level, Dr. Leming-Lee serves as a peer reviewer for BMJ Open Quality, a peer-reviewed journal published by the British Medical Journal. The journal focuses on the practical application of quality improvement (QI) methods in healthcare. Its mission is to support healthcare professionals in delivering safer, higher-quality care by disseminating real-world QI initiatives, examining improvement methodologies and strategies, and synthesizing insights from the literature to address common challenges in the field.

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Throughout her academic career, Dr. Leming-Lee taught core courses at both the MSN and doctoral levels and served as the DNP Program Consultant, providing guidance on the development of scholarly quality improvement projects. She played a key role in curriculum design and educational innovation at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN), contributing to the advancement of nursing education and clinical practice.

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Dr. Leming-Lee co-developed and launched two innovative, pioneering courses—Lean Methodology in Healthcare for Nurses and Design Thinking and Innovation in Health—which have reshaped how students approach healthcare problem-solving. In recognition of her excellence in teaching and mentorship, she received the 2023 Sarah Archer Award and the Dean Colleen Conway-Welch Award for Teaching, both honors conferred by VUSN students. Among her other recognitions, she is especially proud of receiving the 2020 DAISY Award and being named the 2018 Middle Tennessee March of Dimes Nurse of the Year in Quality and Risk Management. Widely regarded for her collaborative leadership, Dr. Leming-Lee has mentored and supported numerous students and colleagues in achieving their professional goals.

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Most recently, Dr. Leming-Lee has contributed her design thinking and Lean expertise to a groundbreaking initiative at VUMC supported by a $3.9 million grant from the Tennessee Department of Health. This project focuses on developing and testing innovative, team-based nursing care models that address workforce sustainability, burnout, and social drivers of health. Her contributions have been instrumental in the positioning of VUMC as a potential national leader in new care delivery models.

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Dr. Leming-Lee is recognized for her leadership in quality improvement, her contributions to academic innovation, and her ongoing commitment to advancing healthcare quality, safety, and outcomes at the local, national, and international levels.