National quality and patient experience expert is first new division director in 30 years

Since Emily Boss joined the faculty of Johns Hopkins’ Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery in 2008, she has amassed a wealth of experience as a clinician, researcher and executive leader. These experiences have contributed to her growth as a thought leader in pediatric otolaryngology and positioned her well for her new role as the division’s director, which began in April 2024.

Boss is the first new division director in three decades, replacing David Tunkel, who held the post since 1994. Tunkel will remain on the Johns Hopkins faculty and continue to see patients and educate trainees.

“I have been pleased to have Emily Boss as a partner and am even more excited to see her now lead our division of superb pediatric otolaryngologists,” Tunkel says.

The division is a regional and national leader in its field, says Boss. Tunkel’s expertise spans multiple areas, including chronic ear disease and otolaryngology issues in children with skeletal dysplasia. Jonathan Walsh is nationally recognized for his work defining potential misuse of tongue-tie release procedures, and he is a program builder for pediatric thyroid care. Carolyn Jenks, who is part of a small national network of physicians with expertise in pediatric vestibular and balance disorders, has grown the pediatric cochlear implant program for children with sensorineural hearing loss. The division’s physician assistant, Elizabeth Rodriguez, has worked to enhance perioperative protocols and inpatient swallowing evaluations. Nurse practitioner Melinda “Nina” DeSell’s interest in expanding access to hearing care for children who fail infant screenings led her to cofound the Infant Hearing Early Access and Rapid Diagnostic Detection Clinic in 2019.

When Boss arrived at Johns Hopkins 16 years ago as a surgeon-scientist, she brought a passion for understanding and improving clinical outcomes and health disparities in pediatric surgical care. She has succeeded in her pursuit and currently leads a federally funded research program evaluating the influence of interpersonal communication on outcomes for children with obstructive sleep apnea. 

Early in her career, she became the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery’s director for patient experience, a role that capitalized on her expertise and interest in patient satisfaction as an indicator of care quality. In 2015, she was appointed director of pediatric surgical quality and safety for Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, and three years later, its inaugural chief surgical quality officer. In these roles, she led hospital and health system initiatives to improve patient safety, prevent errors, reduce care variation and develop programs geared at prioritizing patient-family centeredness for children receiving surgery.

More recently, Boss continued in her physician leadership trajectory as The Johns Hopkins Hospital’s physician adviser for care coordination and clinical resource management, and Johns Hopkins Medicine’s medical director for revenue cycle performance improvement. She led programs aimed at improving care use, optimizing revenue and reducing denials by insurance companies.

            As the new division director, Boss says she plans to use these experiences to improve patient and practitioner experiences alike. For example, by recruiting more faculty, optimizing use of advanced practice clinicians and expanding telemedicine, she hopes to improve patients’ access to the division’s services. She also wants to improve efficiency and patient care value by building new multidisciplinary programs and centers of excellence. She intends to capitalize on each faculty and staff member’s unique knowledge and talents to optimize workflows, support their work-life balance and help them continue to provide exemplary pediatric otolaryngology care.

“We want patients and families to truly value their care experience from the first time they contact our division to the child’s last visit,” Boss says. “Together, our team will continue to make that happen.”

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