Medical Director, Performance Measurement & Practice Transformation

Sharon Eloranta is the Washington Health Alliance’s Medical Director for Performance Measurement and Practice Transformation. Prior to joining the Alliance in 2021, Sharon spent the majority of her career in the development and implementation of healthcare quality improvement initiatives.

Sharon started her career as a primary care provider in pediatrics but found her true passion in healthcare quality improvement, working for more than 20 years at (then) Qualis Health, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for the states of Washington, Idaho and Alaska.

She has put her provider background to use in utilization management, contract management, and NCQA HEDIS Auditing®. On the Commonwealth Fund’s Safety Net Medical Home Initiative, Sharon supported the implementation of person-centered medical homes. She also served as the Division Director for Quality at CHI Franciscan (now Virginia Mason Franciscan Health), working to help the system achieve improvements in quality and safety metrics. She then worked to create and support standards for operational excellence and was a champion for health equity at Vera Whole Health.

Sharon believes strongly in the power of collaborations, such as the Alliance, to be the driving force that can transform our healthcare system. Her motto is “no quality improvement initiative without an equity lens!” She is a believer in the IHI’s Model for Improvement and Plan, Do, Study, Act cycles as the cornerstone of effective quality improvement methodology. In her time away from work, Sharon enjoys cooking, entertaining, travel, and spending time with friends and family.

Sharon received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington, her MD from Georgetown University, and she completed a pediatrics residency at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. She also holds a certificate in Medical Management from the University of Washington and completed a Fellowship at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, Massachusetts.