Her Story
About Lindsey
Lindsey Herring is the Lead Project Manager for Quality and Safety at UAB Medical West Hospital, bringing nearly twelve years of experience in healthcare quality improvement and emergency management. Raised in a family of nurses and doctors, she developed an early connection to medicine and spent her high school years volunteering at a local hospital. That early interest carried into an undergraduate internship, mentored by the woman who is now both her boss and the hospital's Chief Quality Officer, an experience that set the direction for her entire career in the quality field.
Over the course of her time at UAB Medical West and UAB Medicine, Herring has taken on a wide range of responsibilities, from coordinating Joint Commission readiness and emergency preparedness training to leading redesign initiatives and accountable care team projects. She currently oversees efforts related to Age Friendly Care, pressure injury prevention, emergency preparedness, and active shooter readiness, while also supporting the broader quality, safety, and patient experience initiatives outlined in the hospital's annual plan. Her academic background includes a master's degree in Healthcare Quality and Safety from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and she is currently pursuing a graduate certificate in Customer Experience at Loyola University New Orleans.
Beyond her operational role, Herring remains active in mentorship and community involvement, serving on the UAB National Alumni Society's Junior Board of Directors and volunteering with organizations such as Susan G. Komen's Race for the Cure. She is guided by a deep sense of caring and empathy, working to build processes that allow frontline staff to deliver excellent patient care without burning out. To those entering the healthcare field, she offers a simple philosophy: pair education with real action plans, stay open to learning from experts, and seek out hands-on experience whenever possible.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Lindsey
01What do you attribute your success to?
I credit my success to being immersed in healthcare from a young age, growing up with family members who were nurses and doctors and volunteering at a local hospital throughout high school. That early exposure, combined with the hands-on internship experience I gained during my undergraduate studies and the ongoing mentorship of my current boss, our Chief Quality Officer, gave me the foundation and guidance I needed to build my career in quality.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I've received is that education on its own isn't enough — you have to put processes and an action plan in place to actually support and carry out what you've learned.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I encourage young women entering this field to listen closely to the experts around them and stay open-minded, since there's always more to learn than you realize. I also recommend seeking out internships or direct experience whenever possible, because being in the actual work setting helps everything click in a way that classroom learning alone can't.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges I see is the inequity in pay and benefits, including limited maternity and paternity leave, at smaller healthcare organizations compared to larger academic medical centers. At the same time, I see this as an opportunity to build better operational processes that genuinely support staff and help prevent burnout.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Caring and empathy guide everything I do. I focus on supporting the staff around me so they're equipped to provide strong patient care without burning out, and I try to maintain a family-first approach that keeps my life balanced.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.