Your Quality Story, Expertly Told
Every hospital has a quality story worth telling. The challenge isn’t delivering excellent care—it’s ensuring that excellence is accurately reflected in the complex web of quality ratings that shape your hospital’s reputation, patient choice, and financial performance.
Our story begins with a simple recognition: exceptional healthcare organizations were being unfairly penalized by quality measures that didn’t capture the full picture of their clinical excellence. We founded CareKate Analytics to change that narrative.
We help hospital systems translate their clinical excellence into measurable quality improvements across CMS Stars, Leapfrog Safety Grades, US News rankings, and the financial programs that directly impact your bottom line.
Our Experts
Tom Webb, DBA
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Tom Webb brings over a decade of specialized expertise in healthcare quality measurement and rankings to every client engagement. As the former founder and leader of Rush University Medical Center’s Center for Quality, Safety, and Value Analytics, Dr. Webb developed the analytical frameworks that helped establish Rush as one of the nation’s premier medical institutions.
While at Rush, the Medical Center earned CMS 5-star, US News and World Report’s Best Hospitals Honor Roll, ‘A’ Leapfrog Safety Grades, and Vizient’s Quality & Accountability #1 ranking. For these contributions, Dr. Webb earned the prestigious Larry Goodman Leadership Award and Manager of the Quarter.
Dr. Webb’s doctoral research focused on the intersection of publicly reported hospital prices and quality scores, contributing to multiple academic publications about healthcare quality and operations. This research foundation, combined with his hands-on experience consulting with health systems across the United States, provides clients with insights that go far beyond surface-level recommendations.
Currently serving as Adjunct Faculty in Rush University’s Health System Management program, Dr. Webb teaches Data Management and Quality, Safety, and Operations Improvement in Healthcare, ensuring he stays current with the latest developments in quality measurement methodology.
Prior to joining healthcare, Dr. Webb spent over 10 years in the chemical and food industries focused on engineering products and processes including automotive paints, biocide plastic additives, and liquid sweeteners.
Katie Soso, MSN, RN, CPSN-R, CNE, ISPAN-F
Co-Founder & Partner
Katie Soso brings over 19 years of registered nursing experience spanning inpatient settings (Burns ICU, step-down units), outpatient plastic and reconstructive surgery, and academics.
Katie started her nursing career in 2006 in a Burns ICU/Step-down Unit, and she transitioned to outpatient Plastic Surgery in 2007. In 2011, she earned her certification as a Certified Plastic Surgical Nurse (CPSN). Katie is an active member of the International Society of Plastic and Aesthetic Nurses (ISPAN); she has served on the Board of Directors for ISPAN, chaired the Clinical Practice Committee, and led the Scopes & Standards Revision Task Force. Katie is also a manuscript reviewer for the journal Plastic & Aesthetic Nursing. In 2024, Katie was elected to the position of Director on the Plastic Surgical Nursing Certification Board. In recognition of her contributions to the specialty of Plastic and Aesthetic Nursing and to ISPAN, Katie was awarded the designation of ISPAN Fellow in 2019 and the President’s Award in 2022.
Katie served as a member of the nursing faculty at Saint Xavier University (SXU) from 2018 through 2025. During that time, Katie played an integral role in the development of the Academic Success Coaching Program for the Nursing Program at SXU. She participated in the revision of the undergraduate nursing curriculum and facilitated the incorporation of evidence-based teaching/learning strategies into the undergraduate nursing courses. In 2022, Katie was a recipient of the Dr. Shu-Pi Chen Nursing Enhancement Fund; she utilized this financing to execute her NCLEX Success Project. Katie has been a Certified Nurse Educator since 2020.
Katie has been recognized for her leadership in the nursing field. The Illinois Nurses Foundation recognized her as a “40 Under 40 Emerging Nurse Leader” in 2021. More recently, Katie received the Mentorship Chapter Award from Sigma Theta Tau, International (Alpha Omicron chapter) in 2025.
Katie’s role in CareKate’s quality improvement engagements focuses on clinical chart review to ensure accurate representation of quality metrics. She draws on years of experience with documentation in both inpatient and outpatient healthcare records in addition to many semesters of critically evaluating students’ documentation. She recently completed clinical documentation integrity training through the Association of Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialists (ACDIS).
The Problem We Solve
Healthcare executives face an increasingly complex quality measurement landscape. CMS Stars, Hospital Readmission Reduction Program, Hospital Acquired Condition Reduction Program, Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade—each system has its own methodology, its own timeline, and its own impact on your organization’s reputation and revenue.
Too often, hospitals that deliver exceptional care find themselves penalized by quality measures that don’t accurately capture their performance. The difference between recognition and penalty often comes down to understanding the technical nuances of how these programs actually work—and having the expertise to optimize your documentation and processes accordingly. bottom line.
Our Approach
We combine deep analytical expertise with practical clinical validation to deliver results that matter. Our methodology addresses three critical areas:
Strategic Assessment: We analyze your current performance across all major quality programs to identify the highest-impact opportunities for improvement. Our comprehensive approach ensures you’re focusing resources where they’ll deliver the greatest return.
Operational Enhancement: We work directly with your quality, coding, and clinical documentation teams to implement sustainable processes that improve both care delivery and accurate representation in quality measures.
Predictive Intelligence: We help you anticipate changes in quality ratings before they become public, giving you the strategic advantage to prepare communications and allocate resources proactively.
Why Healthcare Leaders Choose CareKate Analytics
Proven Results: Our clients have achieved measurable improvements in CMS Star ratings, reduced quality penalties, and enhanced safety scores across multiple rating platforms.
Deep Expertise: With over a decade of experience in healthcare quality measurement and rankings, we understand not just what the measures track, but how they actually work behind the scenes.
Practical Solutions: We don’t just identify problems—we build the sustainable processes and capabilities that prevent them from recurring.
Executive Focus: We speak the language of healthcare leadership, translating complex quality methodology into strategic insights that drive decision-making.
Our Commitment
Your hospital’s quality story deserves to be told accurately and completely. We’re here to ensure it is—across every measure, every rating system, and every platform that matters to your organization’s success.