Danielle Balsano | Master of Science in Clinical Service Operations

As a nurse turned quality leader, Danielle Balsano, RN, SM, has always been motivated by one question: “How can health systems reliably deliver the level of care that clinicians strive for every day?” At the University of Maryland Medical System, where she currently serves as a quality improvement manager, Balsano partners with clinicians, coders, analysts, and hospital leadership to strengthen performance across sepsis, mortality, readmissions, and other system-wide priorities. Her work is rooted in data and collaboration for the frontline teams who bring clinical care to life.

Before joining Harvard Medical School’s Master of Science in Clinical Service Operations program, Balsano was already immersed in quality and patient safety. But she found herself increasingly drawn to the operational processes behind hospital performance that shape patient experience just as much as clinical care. “I feel very well versed in quality and safety,” she says, “but when operations joined a meeting, I realized how much I didn’t know about supply chains or those kinds of things. I wanted to understand every part of the system.”

That gap became the catalyst for pursuing a master’s degree. Balsano knew that she didn’t want another certification; she wanted an education that would expand her thinking, sharpen her leadership, and prepare her for the director-level roles that demand a sophisticated understanding of clinical operations.

After reviewing job descriptions, talking to colleagues, and researching programs, Harvard Medical School immediately stood out. “I wanted a leadership-focused master’s degree in operations that included real operational training, quantitative and financial decision-making, AI and telemedicine exposure, and a capstone embedded in a real health system. The Clinical Service Operations program seemed to promise that.”

Balsano completed the program part-time while working full-time and raising two children. “I couldn’t have done it without my husband,” she says. “We communicated constantly, and he made the tough semesters possible.” The remote, live-virtual format and the synchronous Zoom classes required engagement and presence, creating a genuine classroom experience rather than a series of prerecorded lectures.

Workplace support was crucial. Her leaders encouraged her to block out time for live sessions and trusted her to make up the hours elsewhere, recognizing that the operational knowledge she was gaining would ultimately enhance the department’s work. That understanding—and the flexibility that came with it—also made the program feasible.

Almost immediately, Balsano found ways to translate her coursework into practice. Learning to view health care problems through an operations lens helped her build stronger cross-functional partnerships. “I started asking: How can I get more exposure to length of stay? To pharmacy supply? To readmissions? I knew the metrics, but now I was learning how those systems actually run.”

For her capstone, Balsano tackled a complex challenge: improving her hospital’s mortality observed-to-expected (O/E) ratio for the general medicine service line. Using Vizient’s national benchmarking methodology, her institution saw an opportunity to strengthen the accuracy of risk variable capture in clinical documentation.

The inspiration came directly from a lecture by Rachel Sisodia, MD, chief quality officer (CQO) at Mass General Brigham. “She said something that stuck with me: With your data, if the coding piece and the documentation piece aren’t accurate, how could you possibly know where to home in and improve clinical care?”

Right after class, Balsano went to her director and the CQO at her hospital to look at their own numbers. “We actually created a sustainable fix. We mapped workflows and aligned clinicians, coders, and analysts. We standardized workflows in the electronic medical record, EPIC, and as a result, we have more accurate risk capture, a clear signal that clinical improvement was needed.”

The results were transformative. The hospital achieved a 36 percent reduction in mortality O/E, strengthening both data integrity and targeted clinical improvement efforts. Balsano was invited to co-present the work at a Vizient national conference.

Her Harvard Medical School faculty mentor, Rachel Wasserstrom, MBA, provided encouragement and strategic guidance throughout the project. On the work side, Balsano collaborated closely with the associate CMO, senior director, and CQO, who were all integral in advancing the documentation and risk-capture improvements within her organization. Together, these mentors provided the academic and operational perspectives she needed to carry the project from concept to implementation.

Graduating in May 2025 gave Balsano the chance to take a breath, but not a break. She returned to work energized, continuing her capstone-driven improvements and expanding her operational partnerships. With the master’s credential, she now feels equipped to pursue advanced roles in clinical excellence and operations.

For those considering the Clinical Service Operations program, Balsano’s advice is simple: come with intention. “Scope your project early and find a real operational problem. Mara Bloom, JD, MS, told me, ‘Time passes so quickly,’ so try to look around and see what is an organizational problem that you can make work.”

She encourages prospective students to embrace the cohort as part of the education. “I was never a networker before, but listening to everyone’s stories expanded my thinking. Your peers become part of your toolkit.”

Looking back, Balsano views the program as a turning point—not only in skill building, but also in community. “I entered the program for operations leadership to learn that piece of clinical operations and health care systems,” she says. “I left with a community.”

Beginning December 8, Danielle will join Florence Health, a technology-enabled ACO, as an Incoming Practice Partner, Network Operations. There, she will help practices convert population analytics into reliable daily workflows and close gaps in care across a growing network. “The MCSO program gave me the operator’s toolkit to move into health-tech ACO work—taking what I built in one hospital and scaling it across a network. I couldn’t have made this leap without the program.”

Written by Bailey Merlin