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PERC

The Prairie Education and Research Cooperative is a not for profit organization that focuses on medical education and research in an effort to improve the overall health care environment.

Founded in 1983

Prairie Education and Research Cooperative is a not-for-profit organization that focuses on medical education and research in an effort to improve our overall health care environment. By participating in research, both locally and non-locally, we are improving treatments and discovering better technologies that will improve the quality of life for those in our community and beyond. Our participation includes our involvement in current clinical trials (Local Site), developing protocols and providing data management for current and future trials (MultiCenter), doing outcomes research, as well as wound and angiographic analysis (SynvaCor). In addition, PERC provides continuing medical education (CME) opportunities to our health care professionals so that they are kept abreast of these treatments and technologies and are well educated and qualified to care for their patients; one such opportunity is the Prairie Vascular Fellowship. PERC is an affiliate of Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) and closely aligned with Prairie Cardiovascular Consultants Ltd.  For more information, please contact 217-492-9100.

Jenny Chambers MBA, MHA, Executive Director

Jenny Chambers MBA, MHA, Executive Director

Jenny graduated in 1994 from Lincoln Land Community College’s Associate Degree Radiography Program and began her career in the Cardiac Cath Lab. Over the course of 13 years, Jenny worked in three different cath labs throughout the Midwest before settling back down in Springfield. In 2007, she accepted a position as the Cath Lab educator, which she held for five years. During this period she finished her Bachelor’s in Health Care Leadership, Master’s in Health Care Administration, and Master’s in Business Administration from the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois.  In 2012, Jenny became the manager of the Cath Lab/OPCL at St. Johns, which she held for three years.  During this period, she became the Chest Pain Center coordinator and led the hospital through a successful CPC accreditation, assisted in a successful ACE accreditation, and completed Lean Performance Improvement Change Leader training, being the process owner of five different successful improvement projects.  In March of 2015, Jenny became the Executive Director at Prairie Education and Research Cooperative, and is committed to fostering PERC’s mission to provide patients and physicians with the research and education opportunities that will improve tomorrow’s quality of life.

Partners

Quality Assurance and Compliance

Prairie Education and Research (PERC) is committed to meeting customer requirements, enhancing customer satisfaction, and improving the quality of research and education through continual improvement of its processes, products, services and the quality management system. Our organization has been compliant with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 since 2009.

PERC is governed by a Quality Management System (QMS) and Quality Operating Procedures (QOP), as well as, individual department Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). All employees are required to review and train on these policies on an annual basis.

All vendors doing business with PERC are internally tier-reviewed on a bienniel basis and must qualify based on the vendor’s acceptable work performance/relationship with PERC. We are continually seeking feedback from our customers and patients via scheduled phone calls, letters, surveys and email correspondence. We have a 24 hour hotline available to report any compliance or quality issues that might arise. We conduct internal audits of our work product, as well as, facilitate any external audits performed by Sponsors, Review Boards or governmental agencies.

Quality and Compliance Team

Stacy Budrean

Stacy Budrean

Manger of Accounting and the Quality Assurance/Compliance Manager
Stacy earned her Master’s in Accounting from the University of Illinois Springfield and her BS from Eastern Illinois University. Stacy’s research experience includes duties as a Clinical Research Associate, Regulatory Facilitator, Laboratory Supervisor and Laboratory Technician. Stacy also has experience as the Multicenter Division Manager and a Database Coordinator. Stacy currently is in charge of all accounting and quality responsibilities at PERC.

PERC Board Members

Larry Hardy, Board Chair

Larry Hardy

Board Chair
Larry Hardy has been a Financial Advisor in Springfield for nearly 30 years. Prior to that, he graduated from University of Illinois with a degree in biology and managed the anatomic and surgical pathology laboratories at St. John’s Hospital. A major priority for Larry is to see continued progress and expansion of clinical research trials and cardiac services. Additionally, educating the community as to the economic impact and the recognition these services bring to our community equalizing the playing field with much larger institutions and communities.
Jacob Kitchener, MD

Jacob Kitchener, MD

Board Member
Dr. Kitchener graduated from Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine, completed his residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and trained at Rush University in Chicago, Illinois, and St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri where he completed his Clinical Neurophysiology and Interventional and Vascular Neurology fellowships. Dr. Kitchener maintains certification in Neurocritical Care: United Council for Neurologic Subspecialities, American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine, and American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, with subspecialty certification in Vascular Neurology and Clinical Neurology. He is currently part of Springfield Clinic.
 Brenda Jeffers, PhD, RN, NEA-BC

Brenda Jeffers, PhD, RN, NEA-BC

Board Member
Dr. Jeffers is a registered nurse with experience in direct care, undergraduate and graduate nursing education,and  higher education administration. Her professional experiences include, leading the development of advanced-practice nursing and nursing doctoral programs as well as undergraduate curriculum development, service on an institutional review board, and principal investigator of multiple federal and state education grants. She has served on a variety of national, state and regional committees focused on nursing research and workforce development. Dr. Jeffers has authored numerous scholarly publications and has served as a manuscript reviewer for prominent nursing journals including Nursing Research and Journal of Nursing Scholarship. She has experience as a member of a hospital  ethics committee, past board member of  the Sangamo Club and the Zonta International Club of Springfield. Dr. Jeffers is most recently retired as Chancellor of St. John’s College of Nursing.
Bharath Rajagopalan, MD

Bharath Rajagopalan, MD

Board Member
Dr. Rajagopalan graduated from Madurai Medical College, India and completed his internal medicine residency and cardiovascular medicine fellowship at State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. He also served as chief medical resident at SUNY Buffalo. He then completed his Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology fellowship at Tufts University.  He joined Prairie Education and Research Cooperative in 2019. Dr. Rajagopalan is active in research and has published in numerous high impact journals like Journal of American College of Cardiology, Circulation, Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, Heart Rhythm among others. He has also authored guidance documents and scientific statements for American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association on cardiac electrophysiology during COVID-19 and drug induced arrhythmias. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and Heart Rhythm Society. He is also a member of the American College of Cardiology Electrophysiology leadership council and is active with the Heart Rhythm Society.
Avinash Murthy, MD

Avinash Murthy, MD

Board Member
Dr. Murthy  graduated from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Kolar India and completed his internal medicine residency at University Hospitals of North Staffordshire, Stroke-On-Trent, UK, University Teaching Hospitalof Sheffield, Sheffield, UK, and Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY.  He completed his cardiovascular fellowship at Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY, his interventional cardiology fellowship at Bridgeport Yale  Hospitals, Bridgeport, CT, and his PVD fellowship at Cardiovascular Institute of the South, Houma, LA..  He joined Prairie Education and Research Cooperative in 2019. Dr. Murthy is active in research, serving as Principal investigator for PERC on numerous clinicaltrials . He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. He is a member of the American Society of Echocardiography, American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, American Professional Wound Care Association, and the American Vein and Lymphatic Society.
Dennis Rizzo

Dennis Rizzo

Board Member
Dennis Rizzo currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer for the Purchasers Business Group on Health.  He is responsible for the finance and internal operations to ensure the organization has the resources necessary to serve its members. Previously, Dennis has held financial leadership roles at a number of associations and has extensive financial and operational experience in the non-profit healthcare space.  He has served on the board of the Midwest Homeless Shelter for Veterans in Wheaton, Illinois.  Dennis holds a Master of Business Administration from Keller Graduate School and a Bachelor of Science in accounting from DePaul University. 
Janet Roglis

Janet Roglis

Board Member