Mission & Philosophy

To exceed the client's expectations by providing outstanding customer service through ethical, and cost effective consulting services individually tailored to achieve the best results possible, and cost effective solutions for document and compliance management.

QFMS focuses on cost effective solutions and sustainable results. We believe the right technology applied appropriately can provide those solutions and results. Strong client relationships are essential in accomplishing these goals. We believe this management approach of sharing information and experience through education, training, coaching, and mentoring is conducive to client satisfaction and acheiving effective results-oriented outcomes. We also believe that this method yields benefits that sustain results over time. QFMS is committed to providing the best possible service.

QFMS Leadership

Candace J. Chitty
Candace J. Chitty
President, CEO and Co-Founder

Candace J. (Candi) Chitty, RN, MBA, CPHQ, President & CEO  Candace Chitty is President and CEO of Quality First Healthcare Consulting, Inc. (QFHC) and Quality First Management Solutions, Inc. (QFMS). Starting her consulting business in 2001 with a focus on National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) accreditation project management, she has expanded her management consulting over the past 18 years to provide consulting services to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs and FQHC-LAL), health plans, physician practices, accountable care organizations (ACO), hospital systems, state and federal funded health care programs, and information technology companies. She has been instrumental in the design of the PolicyPLUS™ cloud-based software platform and the HRSA ongoing compliance software, Total330™.

Through her leadership, organizations have achieved effective and sustainable results in the quality of health care they deliver by making improvements in coordinating and improving the utilization and quality of care and services, redesigning care delivery systems toward patient centered care, developing population health management programs, performance measurement and CQI, regulatory compliance, outcomes measurement and reporting.

Candi brings over 32 years’ experience having held staff, management, and executive level positions in hospitals, physician groups, home health agencies, and health plans. Ms. Chitty has worked with HRSA’s grantee programs since 2003 in the roles of grant reviewer, Healthy Community Access Program (HCAP) evaluator, clinical services technical assistance (TA) expert, FTCA application reviewer, FTCA TA consultant, and FTCA coach, special projects consultant, and Operational Site Visit (OSV) consultant. In 2009 she joined NCQA as an external consultant reviewer conducting the review process for numerous NCQA products including Health Plan Accreditation, Case Management, Case Management Long Term Support Service, Credentialing Vendor Organizations.

Ms. Chitty holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration in Health Care Management, a Bachelors’ degree in Nursing, and a National Certification in Healthcare Quality.

She is an active member of the Case Management Society of America, (CMSA), the National Association of Community Health Centers (NHCHC), the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA).

Bonni Van
Bonni Van
Executive Vice President, Operations

Bonni Van, RN, MBA, PCMH CCE, Executive Vice President, Operations, QFHC partner, brings over 30 years of experience to our healthcare industry. Ms. Van holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration in Health Care Management, and a Bachelors’ degree in Nursing. She joined our QFHC consulting team in 2005.

Ms. Van has been working as a clinical consultant focused on the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) model of care for over 15 years. She also provides clinical expertise and technical assistance to FQHCs during HRSA Operational Site Visits (OSV). This includes performance analysis review and root cause discussion of targeted health center UDS measures leading to identification of action steps and plan for improved performance. Additionally, Ms. Van acts as an Operational Site Visit (OSV) coach helping health centers prepare for upcoming OSV’s, including gap analyses, documentation preparation, staff training, and overall health center readiness preparedness.

Other areas of expertise include positions with NCQA as a PCMH evaluator and external surveyor health plan, case management, population health, and case management LTSS accreditation products. She has held positions with health plans, pharmaceutical sales organizations, technology firms, online faculty, home health, and hospice. She is highly experienced in the areas of Care Management, Disease Management, quality improvement, medical record review, strategic operations including start-up expertise, governance, team building, and facilitation. Her consulting experience includes market research, policy & procedure development, time & work analysis, medical record auditing, case management curriculum design, care management design & implementation, PCMH survey readiness and providing technical assistance to community health centers. She enjoys working with primary care providers to improve workflow and overall efficiency. Ms. Van’s QFHC consulting portfolio includes accreditation project management, PCMH recognition project management, HRSA OSV preparation, HRSA ongoing compliance coaching, clinical practice optimization, policy writing, case management program development and oversight.

Erin Varela
Erin Varela
Senior Account Manager

Erin Varela, MHS, OTR/L, PCMH-CCE,is a PolicyPLUS™ Senior Account Manager that brings over 13 years of experience in healthcare to QFMS. Mrs. Varela received her Master's degree in occupational therapy from the University of Florida in 2001.

Mrs. Varela has primarily worked in skilled nursing facilities and continuing care retirement communities providing direct patient care as well as managing large therapy departments.

Mrs. Varela has served as a consultant to FQHCs, assisted living facilities, and retirement communities. She is familiar with healthcare IT systems including ROX, AOD, Centricity, Point Click Care, and PolicyPLUS™. Mrs. Varela has worked as a consultant for several primary care organizations assisting with PCMH recognition. She has also has experience with project management for successful implementation of PolicyPLUS™. As an occupational therapist, Mrs. Varela has advanced knowledge of American Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines for creating a medical office space that accommodates persons with disabilities, as well as optimal patient flow maximizing patient-centered team based care.

Erin is a NCQA PCMH Certified Content Expert (PCMH-CCE) and a contracted reviewer for NCQA.

Amber Sapp
Amber Sapp
Account Manager

Amber Sapp, Account Manager, brings over 14 years of experience in the healthcare industry to the QFMS family. What began as volunteering in a predominant Emergency Department in Gainesville, FL became a career in healthcare.

In solidifying her passion in medicine and community health Amber completed her Bachelor Degree at the University of Florida in Food Science and Human Nutrition with a specialization in Dietetics and Community Education. As a medical assistant at Gainesville Pediatric Associates in Gainesville FL she began building career strengthening relationships with physicians, specialist, and patients. After 5 years as a medical assistant and phone triage nurse at GPA, the following 3 years were spent as their referral specialist, and special projects coordinator. She has also has experience with project management for successful implementation of PolicyPLUS™.

Amber enjoys providing support for her clients and making their experience with PolicyPLUS™ a pleasant and successful one.

Senthil Ramiah
Senthil Ramiah
Aileron Consulting, LLC

Senthil Ramiah, CEO, Aileron Consulting, LLC, leads the Aileron team that provides software design, support, & maintenance for PolicyPLUS™. Aileron Consulting, LLC, is a Management and Technology consulting firm based in Arlington, VA.

Mr. Ramiah is a seasoned IT leader with a strong management and technical background. Senthil has consistently and successfully delivered solutions to solve business IT and software design challenges. Senthil has extensive experience in the field of Healthcare applications including EHR, Medicaid systems, Disease Management, Case Management, Utilization Management, Behavioral Health, OSHA, HL7 and others.

Senthil holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania.