Bassett Healthcare Network Appoints Dr. Carlton Rule as Chief Quality Officer

Bassett Healthcare Network is pleased to announce the appointment of Carlton J. Rule, MD, as Chief Quality Officer. In this role, Rule will oversee system-wide quality programs, patient safety, performance improvement, and patient experience. His responsibilities encompass ensuring regulatory compliance across all affiliated hospitals and clinics.

“Ensuring patients receive quality care and service goes to the heart of Bassett’s mission,” says Staci Thompson, MHA, FACMPE, President and CEO of Bassett Healthcare Network. “As a longtime physician leader at Bassett, Dr. Rule thoroughly understands the challenges of clinical practice and knows firsthand the unique challenges we face as a rural healthcare system. We are fortunate to have him assume this new leadership role.”

As the Chief Quality Officer, Rule will work closely with clinical and non-clinical teams across Bassett Healthcare Network’s hospitals, clinics, school-based health centers, long-term care facilities, and other locations to improve the organization’s quality performance and programs – a key piece of Bassett Healthcare Network’s strategic organizational growth and goals.

Rule has held progressive clinical leadership roles within Bassett Healthcare Network for more than 20 years. He is currently Vice President of Medical Affairs for Bassett Medical Center and the network’s critical access hospitals, including Cobleskill Regional Hospital, Little Falls Hospital, and O’Connor Hospital – a post he will maintain in addition to stepping into the role of Chief Quality Officer. In his role as Vice President of Medical Affairs, Rule serves as a key advisor to Bassett’s Medical Staff leadership and executives, participates in peer review and grievance committees, and guides clinical governance and bylaws development.

“The Chief Quality Officer has an expansive role,” says Dr. Henry Weil, Chief Clinical and Academic Officer of Bassett Healthcare Network and President of Bassett Medical Center. “This focus on quality includes the improvement of clinical outcomes, patient experiences, and patient safety, which encompass all aspects of patient care. The partnerships Dr. Rule has developed over the years with physician and nursing leadership will serve him well, as this work requires full cooperation across numerous teams.”

Prior to his tenure as Vice President of Medical Affairs, Rule served as President and CEO of O’Connor Hospital in Delhi and Tri-Town Regional Hospital in Sidney (now A.O. Fox Hospital – Tri-Town Campus) from 2014 to 2017. He also served as medical director of Bassett’s southern region health centers in Delaware County, including Delhi, Andes, Stamford, and Walton. Rule has been a practicing physician in family medicine for over 30 years. He graduated from Cornell University and New York University School of Medicine. Before joining Bassett Medical Group in 2011, Rule served as Executive Vice President of A.O. Fox Hospital. He has also served as the medical director of First Community Care of Bassett and medical advisor to At Home Care, Inc.

“I am thrilled to expand my role at Bassett Healthcare Network with this vital work,” says Rule. “As a longtime family physician and clinical leader, I am passionate about ensuring excellence in patient safety and experiences across the care continuum. It is a privilege to work alongside executive and clinical leaders, practitioners, nursing professionals, and so many others to orchestrate programs and initiatives to support and continually improve patient quality and safety. Bassett Healthcare Network is here to improve the health of our patients and the wellbeing of our communities – and caring for the people who call our rural area home means ensuring they can count on the highest quality care close to home.”