Telehealth Leadership Fellowship

Frank D. Sites, MHA, BSN, RN is the Vice President, Connected Care Operations at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia. In this role Mr. Sites is responsible for leading all internal and external growth initiatives including all clinical, technical, support and regulatory activities impacting the enterprise-wide telehealth program. Previously, he has served as the Operations Director of a tele-ICU in a large academic health system that provided tele critical care services to several hospitals. Frank has served in a variety of nursing leadership roles including Chief Nurse Executive of Good Shepherd Penn Partners and served as a Clinical Director of Emergency Nursing and Patient Progression at Pennsylvania Hospital, and as the Division Director of Critical Care at Reading Health System.

He graduated from Holy Family University with a Bachelor of Science in nursing and earned his master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Saint Joseph’s University. Mr. Sites previously held an editorial appointment for the American Association for Critical Care Nurses Journal as a reviewer in the areas of telemedicine and tele-critical care and as an expert reviewer for the AACN’s TeleICU consensus statement supporting high acuity, progressive and critical care.  Currently, he serves as an expert journal reviewer for Telemedicine and e-Health and volunteers his time as the Regional Lead for the Pennsylvania Action Coalition for practice innovation.

Pinki Patel, FNP, AGACNP, is a Family Health and Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Specialist in Philadelphia, PA. She is affiliated with medical facilities at Jefferson Health. She completed her undergraduate degrees from Temple University and La Salle University and her graduate degree in nursing from La Salle University. She completed her post-graduate certificate in Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, she completed Healthcare Quality and Safety Certificate program from Jefferson College of Population Health. Currently, she is pursuing her Doctorate in Nursing Practice degree from Thomas Jefferson University. Her background includes cardiology and cardiac surgery lead nurse practitioner. Also, she serves as a clinical preceptor for the Thomas Jefferson University and University of Pennsylvania nurse practitioner program.  

She serves as a Quality Assurance and Process Improvement Manager for Virtual Health and Urgent Care Service Line. In this role, Mrs. Patel is responsible for improving the quality of care and patient experience for the telehealth and urgent care service line. Pinki is responsible for improving both workflows and processes while enhancing the experience for both patients and providers alike. She has ownership of the overall quality outcomes for the virtual health and urgent care service line.