Patient Safety Home : : Conference ::  2003 Conference- Advancing Patient Safety & Quality :: Speakers

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Randy C. Axelrod, M.D.
Dr. Axelrod joined Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s Southeast region in March 2003 as vice president and general manager, Health Care Management. He was previously employed with Sentara Healthcare as executive medical director since April 1996. Dr. Axelrod was responsible for the development and implementation of care management strategies in the integrated delivery system. He oversaw Sentara’s programs in quality improvement, medical care management, health and preventative services, pharmacy, worker’s compensation, clinical reporting and coordinated the development of practice guidelines.

Dr. Axelrod served as a physician reviewer and member of the review oversight committee for the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Dr. Axelrod has lectured and has instructed nationally on quality improvement and clinical informatics. His papers on the use of artificial intelligence have been accepted internationally.

Dr. Axelrod has served as medical director for United HealthCare in Dayton, Ohio; Community Mutual Insurance Company, Cincinnati, Ohio; Wright Health Associates, Dayton, Ohio; and CIGNA Health plan of Ohio, Dayton Region.

Dr. Axelrod has received several national and international awards including the Pinnacle Award from the American Pharmaceutical Association Foundation in 2000, the Innovator’s Award from HIAA in 2001 and second place internationally in the Knowledge Discovery and Datamining Cup in 2002. A board-certified pediatrician, Dr. Axelrod received his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Mary A. Blegen, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.
Dr. Mary A. Blegen is the Associate Dean for Research and directs the Office of Nursing Research (ONR) at the University of Colorado School of Nursing.  She provides leadership for the research mission and for development and refinement of the School's academic, clinical, and research programs; and oversees the Center for Nursing Research (CNR). The School of Nursing (SON) is building on the rich history of research at the CU-SON by strengthening all research activities, particularly the tradition of providing support to faculty, students, and the healthcare community of the State.   

The Center for Nursing Research was established in 1984 in recognition of the importance of research within the School and to promote standards for conduct of inquiry, generate structures to facilitate investigation, and encourage research and scholarly activity of students and faculty. The CNR supports a consultation area and an adjoining computer lab for both faculty and graduate student use to facilitate research activities.

Howard Cohen, M.D.

Dr. Cohen received his BA in Philosophy and his MD in Medicine from the University of Illinois .  He is board certified in Pediatrics and Neonatology.  Currently, he is the Medical Director of Clinical Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria , Illinois.  He is also a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Illinois ’ College of Medicine at Peoria.  His research interests include developing more active interactions with patients and families regarding patient safety and collaborative endeavors regarding patient safety across the continuum of care in health care systems.
Stephanie M. Dougherty, R.N., B.S.N.
Stephanie Dougherty, B.S.N., Fellow, Executive Patient Safety Fellowship, VCU. She is currently the Patient Safety Officer/Risk Manager at Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, New Jersey, where she is a leader in influencing culture change to embrace patient safety concepts, analyzing systems for emergent error, and designing and implementing
patient safety programs. Her research interests in patient safety include human factors analysis and the study of organizational systems, failure analysis in high risk processes and new program design, metrics of patient safety effectiveness, and medical team training. Ms. Dougherty received her B.S. in Nursing from the William Paterson University, Wayne, New Jersey. She is certified in critical care nursing, gastroenterology, and in risk management from the American Society of Healthcare Risk Management.
Francois de Brantes, M.B.A.
Francois de Brantes, a Program Leader for various healthcare initiatives at GE, is responsible for developing the conceptual framework and the implementation of key strategic programs, in particular GE's Active Consumer strategy.

He attended the University of Paris IX - Dauphine where he earned a Masters in Finance and Taxation. After completing his military service as a platoon leader in a Light Cavalry Regiment, he attended the Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College, where he graduated with an M.B.A.

Upon graduation, he started a small asset management company with a partner, focused primarily on real estate. The business grew to managing a portfolio valued at several hundred million dollars and 30 employees. He subsequently joined McDougall Associates, a Marketing Communications firm, as VP of Strategic Initiatives. In that capacity, he became a consultant to GE's Corporate Healthcare team, focusing on two programs, GE Health Care Preferred and GE MedicarePlus.

Mr. de Brantes was hired by GE to take a broader role focusing on many strategic initiatives, especially creating and supporting Active Consumers. He is also a member of the Leapfrog Group's Steering Committee and, in that capacity, is responsible for the Group's website and participates in policy-making decisions.
Angie Ebel
Angela Ebel is currently a Performance Improvement Specialist in the PI Department at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk , Virginia.  She holds a BS in Nursing from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville , IL and a MS in Nursing from Yale University.  Her clinical experience varies widely and includes pediatric critical care, home care, and care of the ventilator dependent child.  For the last three years, she has worked in Performance Improvement with an ever increasing role in Patient Safety.  Angela assists in the coordination of her hospital’s Medication Safety Committee, conducts intense analyses when necessary, and facilitated completion of their organization’s HFMEA.  Currently, she is completing the Patient Safety Fellowship through Virginia Commonwealth University.  She has co-designed and implemented web-based software for online incident reporting and converted her organization from paper-based reporting to web.
David A. Ellington, M.D.
David Ellington, M.D. is a Family Physician who has practiced in Lexington, Virginia since 1984.  Prior to that time he spent 9 years in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in various assignments in Europe and the United States.  His last duty assignment was as Chairman of the Department of Family Practice and Director of the Military Institute and the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University.  He completed his residency in Family Practice at Fort Ord.  He is board certified by the American Board of Family Physicians and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Practice.  Dr. Ellington is a Past President of the Virginia Academy of Family Physicians and is a current member of the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Commission on Healthcare Services.  He is presently serving as First Vice-President of the Medical Society of Virginia and a member of the Medical Society of Virginia Foundation Board.  In 1992, Dr. Ellington helped found the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic and has been its Medical Director since that time.
Allan Frankel, M.D.
Dr. Allan Frankel is Director of Patient Safety for the Partners HealthCare System. He obtained his medical degree from Boston University. His anesthesia training was at Harvard's Beth Israel Hospital and The Children's Hospital. Dr. Frankel practiced as a general and cardiac anesthesiologist until 1990, and then moved to Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Massachusetts to work in a community anesthesia practice. Beginning in 1995, Dr. Frankel began to divide his time equally between anesthesia practice and promulgating medical safety concepts. He started first as the Medical Safety Officer at the Newton-Wellesley Hospital and then as the Director for Patient Safety for the Partners Healthcare System, an integrated delivery system of 7 major hospitals in the Boston, Massachusetts. In both positions, Dr. Frankel has sought to develop methods to practically incorporate patient safety concepts into the delivery of healthcare and has headed numerous initiatives at a hospital and an integrated delivery network level to achieve this goal. 

He is also on the faculty of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and has co-chaired 2 Institute for Healthcare Improvement Collaboratives on adverse drug events. Dr. Frankel is a member on and trustee of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors. As a member of MCPME, he helped develop the Massachusetts Coalition Best Practice Recommendations for Medication Use. Dr. Frankel is an active speaker nationally on the topics of Patient Safety and Medical Error.
Steven A. Fuhrman, M.D.

Steven Fuhrman has practiced Critical Care Medicine for 13 years and is currently the Medical Director of the Sentara eICU® and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine as Eastern Virginia Medical School.  He has been a core member of an Intensivist-Hospitalist team overseeing 60 ICU beds as well as a 24-bed Burn ICU.  He is a past ICU Medical Director as Suburban Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland and has chaired the Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology efforts of several facilities.  He has served as Principal Investigator for several ICU clinical investigations.

Dr. Fuhrman graduated with Honors in Biochemistry from the State University of New York:  Binghamton.  He graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine with the William Damashek, the James W. McLaughlin Immunology, & the Mead-Johnson Research Awards.  He then trained in Internal Medicine as New York University, Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, and Critical Care at the University of Pittsburgh.
Rodney Frank Hochman, M.D.
Rod Hochman was recently named Administrator for Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. His responsibilities are for the overall operations at the 569-bed teritary care facility, which is nationally known for its specialized services such as the Heart Pavilion and the Cancer Institute. Dr. Hochman continues his role of Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for the 6-hospital Sentara Healthcare system. In that capacity, he is responsible for the clinical effectiveness programs, physician integration efforts, human resources, decision support, medical group of 220 physicians and medical management issues. 

Dr. Hochman was previously affiliated with the Health alliance of Greater Cincinnati, a 6-hospital system with 5,000 members on its medical staff. He was the Chief Executive Officer for Alliance Partners; a joint venture of the health system, with its physicians managed care. He was the Senior Executive Officer for Alliance Primary Care, a 180-physician primary care group practice with 40 practice sites. Prior to assuming those duties, he was the Chairman of Internal Medicine at the Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, a 600-bed teaching hospital. Before going to Cincinnati, Dr. Hochman spent 9 years at the Guthrie Clinic in Sayre, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Board of Directors and an assistant dean for medical education before leaving that organization in 1993.

Dr. Hochman completed his medical training at Boston University and Fellowship training in rheumatology at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians as well as a Fellow in the American College of Rheumatology. He is a member of the Voluntary Hospitals of America National Leadership Council. He has served on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati Medical School as well as the clinical campus of the State University of New York at Syracuse. He was selected as winner of the 2001 Physician Executive Award of Excellence sponsored by Modern Physician magazine in cooperation with the American College of Physician Executives. He serves on the boards of Williamsburg Community Hospital, Sentara Health Plan, Bay Primex, and the Comprehensive Health Investment Project of Virginia. His major areas of interest include clinical effectiveness and human resource issues in health systems. In 2001, he helped implement the first electronic ICU in the nation.
Margaret G. Lewis, C.H.E.

Margaret Lewis was named chief executive officer of CJW Medical Center in May 2001.  She began her career at CJW while she was a nursing student, and after graduating she worked as a bedside nurse and a critical care nurse manager, among other clinical positions, before holding several executive-level management positions, including chief nursing officer of Johnston-Willis, chief nursing officer of HCA’s five-hospital Richmond market, and chief operating officer of Chippenham/Johnston-Willis Hospitals. 

Lewis is very involved in the Richmond community, and she is a member of the board of directors of Virginia Health Information; vice-chair of the John Tyler Community College board of directors; a member of the board of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce;  and  a member of the Richmond City Rotary.  Lewis received an associate’s degree in nursing from John Tyler Community College, a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Medical College of Virginia, and a master’s degree is business administration from Averett College.  She is a diplomate of the American College of Health Care Executives.
Sorrel McElroy King  
Ms. Sorrel King is a patient advocate and founder of The Josie King Pediatric Patient Safety Program at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

Josie King was the beloved daughter of Tony and Sorrel King, and cherished sister of Jack, Relly, Eva and Sam King. She died at the age of 18 months as a result of hospital errors.

Through the creation of a patient safety program, the King's hope to help prevent this from ever happening to another child. The Josie King Pediatric Patient Safety Program at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center will identify safety concerns, revise medical education to sharpen focus on proactive safety measures, and empower families to assume equal partnership in their child's care.
Stephen S. Mick, Ph.D.
Stephen Mick (Ph.D., sociology, Yale) is the current chair of 

 His teaching interests include health care management and organization, rural health and health services, and comparative national systems. His research interests include the health care workforce--particularly international medical graduates (IMGs), rural health care, and the relation between health care resources, use of services, and health status.

Awarded a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship, Dr. Mick spent the 1993-94 academic year in France studying rural hospitals. He has been a consultant to the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME). During his career, Dr. Mick has taught health administration at Yale University, Oklahoma University, the University of Washington, the Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Michigan, where he directed the Doctoral Program in Health Services Organization and Policy. Since 1997, he has been a delegate to annual meetings of the International Medical Workforce Conference, and delivered a keynote paper at the 1999 Conference in San Francisco. Dr. Mick recently completed a four-year term as a reviewer on the Health Systems Research study section of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). He is also on the Advisory Council of the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis and on the Steering Committee of the National Center for Healthcare Leadership
Samuel R. Nussbaum, M.D.

Samuel Nussbaum joined Anthem, Inc. as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer in January 2001, where he serves as chief spokesperson for Anthem on medical issues, guides Anthem’s vision regarding quality of care and its measurement, directs corporate medical policy, leads programs to build Anthem's cost of care performance and build partnerships with Anthem’s physician and hospital community.  Anthem is a leader in hospital quality and its measurement, recognizing and rewarding evidence-based care, and working with professionals and specialty societies to create state-of-the-art medical policy.

Prior to January as Executive Vice President, Medical Affairs and System Integration, Samuel R. Nussbaum, MD had overall responsibility for enhancing and expanding BJC Health System’s relationship with physicians.  He led network and affiliate development, the BJC Medical Group, and co-chaired Health Management Partners, a physician services organization that supports the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective medical care across BJC’s network.  Dr. Nussbaum also oversaw the System’s Center for Health Care Quality and Effectiveness and was responsible for coordinating and integrating clinical services throughout the health system including Pediatrics, Women and Infants’ Services, Pharmacy, and Behavioral Health.  In addition, Dr. Nussbaum served as Chairman and CEO of the BJC Health System and Washington University School of Medicine jointly sponsored health plan, Health Partners of the Midwest , and was responsible for BJC initiatives in international and community health.  Dr. Nussbaum also was instrumental in developing a Clinical Trials Consortium, a joint venture with Washington University School of Medicine. Under Dr. Nussbaum’s leadership, BJC Health System received the prestigious 1999 National Health Care Quality Award, the 2000 VHA Leadership Award, the 2000 National Management Quality Award, sponsored by the Healthcare Information and Management Society, and has been recognized in Modern Healthcare magazine as the second most integrated health care system in the U.S.

Dr. Nussbaum joined BJC Health System in September of 1996 from Boston , where he was President and CEO of Physician Partners of New England, a physician service corporation.  He also was the Senior Vice President for Health Care Delivery at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts.  Prior to those executive positions, Dr. Nussbaum was Chairman of the Board of Bay State Health Care, a 400,000 member health maintenance organization comprising 7,000 academic and community physicians and 65 acute care hospitals, ranked as one of the top five HMOs in the U.S. by Consumer Reports.

Dr. Nussbaum earned his medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York in 1973.  He is board-certified in internal medicine and specialty certified in endocrinology and metabolism.  From 1973 to 1975, Dr. Nussbaum completed his internship and residency in medicine at Stanford University after which he joined the Stanford faculty.  From 1980 to 1996, Dr. Nussbaum was a member of the faculty of Harvard Medical School , where he led the Endocrine Clinical Group at Massachusetts General Hospital , ranked as the number one Endocrine division by U.S. News and World Report.  At Harvard Medical School , he led the musculoskeletal pathophysiology course, and at Massachusetts General Hospital , an NIH supported basic and clinical research program in endocrinology.  He has garnered teaching awards at Harvard and has authored numerous original scientific publications and textbook chapters.

Dr. Nussbaum’s major research interests pertain to the structure activity relationship for parathyroid hormone and in developing new therapies for skeletal complications of malignancy. His internationally respected work on the development of a parathyroid hormone assay has greatly enhanced understanding of mineral ion disorders, particularly hypercalcemia and hyperparathyroidism.  He was among the first to use a class of therapies which have become the standard for the treatment of osteoporosis and malignancy associated hypercalcemia.

Dr. Nussbaum is a member of numerous professional organizations and has spoken at national and regional conferences pertaining to his medical research as well as on healthcare delivery and the impact of integrated delivery systems on physicians and the healthcare industry.  Dr. Nussbaum is Professor of Clinical Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine and serves as Adjunct Professor at the Olin School of Business, Washington University where he teaches a course, Advanced Health Care Models.  He has served as chairman of the Washington-based National Committee for Quality Health Care and has served on the VHA Foundation Board and the Battelle Advisory Board.  Dr. Nussbaum is currently Chairman of the Health Care Data and Quality Subcommittee of the Indiana Commission on Health Care Excellence, and serves on the Indiana Health Commissioner's Diabetes Task Force and Chronic Disease Advisory Council.  He recently was named President-Elect of the Disease Management Association of America.

Jonathan B. Perlin, M.D., Ph.D., M.S.H.A., F.A.C.P.
Dr. Jonathan B. Perlin is Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Health for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs. VHA is the nation’s largest integrated health care system, providing care to approximately 4.3 million veterans throughout the United States.

With a medical care budget of more than $22 billion, VHA employs more than 180,000 health care professionals at 163 hospitals, more than 800 community and facility-based clinics, 135 nursing homes, 43 domiciliaries, 206 readjustment counseling centers, and various other facilities.  In addition to its medical care mission, the veterans health care system is the nation's largest provider of graduate medical education and a major contributor to medical and scientific research. 

Dr. Perlin is also VHA’s Chief Quality and Performance Officer, a post he assumed in 1999. In this capacity, he is responsible for supporting quality improvement and performance management.  VA is one of two agencies recognized in each of the past two years by Congress for “managing for results.”  VHA’s Quality and Performance program has been specifically recognized by the Innovations in American Government and the RIT-USA Today Quality Cup Programs.

Dr. Perlin’s background includes health care quality management, medical education, health services research, and medical informatics.  Prior to joining VA, he served as Medical Director, Quality Improvement at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals – Virginia Commonwealth University Health System.  During that time, he also co-directed the Health Services Research Fellowship, served as Associate Director of the Residency Training Program in Internal Medicine, and directed Continuing Internal Medicine Education.  Dr. Perlin is broadly published, maintains an academic appointment as Associate Professor of Medicine and Health Administration at Virginia Commonwealth University, and continues to see patients at the Washington D.C., VA Medical Center.

Dr. Perlin held previous appointments at the Richmond VA Medical Center, where he led in the development and implementation of the “Firm (group practice) System” and served as a “Firm” director.  He was the first chief of the Telemedicine Section and developed an interstate network for providing clinical consultation as well as distributed education and administration.

Dr. Perlin is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and has a Masters of Science in Health Administration.  He received his Ph.D. in pharmacology with his M.D. as part of the Medical Scientist Training Program at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical College of Virginia Campus.
Peter Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Peter Pronovost is an Assistant Professor Department of Anesthesiology/Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine.  Dr. Pronovost’s special interest is applying clinical research methods that improve quality of health care and safety, especially in intensive care units (ICUs). His expertise in this area has landed him on many committees across the nation. Within the Johns Hopkins community he co-chairs the Patient Safety Committee and directs Performance Improvement for Intensive Care Units at the hospital; serves on the Johns Hopkins Health System's Performance Improvement Council and Leadership Development Program; and core faculty for the Program for Medical Technology and Practice Assessment. On a national level, Dr. Pronovost is leading an effort to develop the idealized ICU design with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and developing standards for ICU quality measures with the VHA. He is an active member of the National Coalition on Health Care and the medical advisor for the Leapfrog Group for patient safety. 
Sheldon M. Retchin, M.D.
Sheldon Retchin is a national expert in health policy and healthcare delivery. He has served as the VCU Health System senior executive vice president and chief operating officer since 2000, playing a key role in bridging the hospital and physician practice operations. For over nine years, Dr. Retchin served as president of MCV Physicians, the faculty practice plan of the VCU School of Medicine. Under his leadership, MCV Physicians went from a loose organization of nearly two dozen independent physician practice plans into a single practice group with central billing, collections, insurance contracting, and other unified business functions. In his 20-year career at VCU, Dr. Retchin also has been a professor in the departments of internal medicine, gerontology and health administration, and he has served as chief of geriatric medicine and chief resident of internal medicine at the MCV Hospitals. He has been appointed to numerous national panels related to managed care and was a technical advisor for Medicare’s Consumer Assessment of Health Plans’ study, directed by Harvard University. 

A native of Wilmington, North Carolina, Dr. Retchin was a Robert Wood Johnson clinical scholar at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he also received his BA, MD, and MSPH degrees.
William C. Rollow, M.D., M.P.H.
 Dr. Rollow (MD, Stanford University, 1977; M.P.H., University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1986) is Deputy Director of the Quality Improvement Group in the Office of Clinical Standards and Quality at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.  He is a board-certified family practitioner and has a master’s degree in public health.  Dr. Rollow brings to CMS an extensive background in managed care and medical management, having held senior medical director positions at BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois and at Anchor HMO, a large staff-model plan based in Chicago.  In this capacity, he had administrative responsibility for cost, utilization, network, medical group, and quality management.  At CMS, he seeks to continue the successful evolution of the QIO program as a focal point for stimulating systems-based quality improvement in provider and practitioner settings, and to support the further elaboration of medical management initiatives in Medicare.
Rebecca P. Snead, R.Ph.
Becky Snead received her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia and her Associate Degree in Science from Richard Bland College in Petersburg, Virginia.

Ms. Snead is currently the Executive Director of the Virginia Pharmacists Association, where she began her career as the Director of Professional Affairs in July 1994. In addition, beginning April 2002, she assumed the role of Administrative Manager for the National Council of State Pharmacy Association Executives. She also serves as a preceptor for the Hampton University School of Pharmacy, Shenandoah University School of Pharmacy and the VCU School of Pharmacy.

Ms. Snead’s current volunteer leadership positions include serving as President of the MCV Alumni Association of Virginia Commonwealth University, President of Virginians Improving Patient Care and Safety, and Board member of the Arthritis Foundation-Virginia Chapter.

Ms. Snead is a member of a number of professional organizations including the Virginia Pharmacists Association, Richmond Pharmacists Association, American Pharmaceutical Association, American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, and the National Community Pharmacists Association. She has been awarded the 2000 VCU Alumni Star for Pharmacy, 2000 Arthritis Foundation-Virginia Chapter Hero for Hope and the 1993 Marion Merrell Dow Distinguished Young Pharmacists Award. In addition she was named one of the 50 most influential pharmacists in the Nation in 1998 by the American Druggist Magazine and attended the 1993 American Pharmaceutical Association/SmithKline Beecham Community Pharmacy Management Program.

Secretary Jane H. Woods
Jane Woods grew up in Annandale , Virginia , where she was active in volunteer and community service. She graduated from the American University with a BA in education.

Upon graduation, Woods began teaching in Virginia public schools where she remained for almost twenty years. She was a nominee for Teacher of the Year of Fairfax County Public Schools in 1987.

In 1987, Jane Woods was first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. She served there until her election to the State Senate in 1992, where she represented the City of Fairfax and part of Fairfax County until 2000.

Described as "unquestionably one of the foremost experts on health care" in Virginia , Woods developed a particular expertise in health care while serving as the Vice Chairman of the Joint Commission on Health Care and Chairman of its Long Term Care subcommittee. The respect she earned from colleagues helped her to quickly rise to the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Education and Health. Woods served on many commissions and study committees whose topics ranged from human services policy and delivery to various aspects of the health care systems to access to business capital to education.

Woods has been active for over 25 years in national and state campaigns and organizations. She currently serves as a board member of Virginia Girls State , where she has mentored and advised young women in Virginia in raising their awareness of the legislative process in Virginia .
Steven H. Woolf, M.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Steven Woolf is Professor and Director of the Department's Ambulatory Care Outcomes Research Network (ACORN) at the Department of Family Practice of VCU. His work focuses on health services research and evidence-based medicine. He is the author of 60 articles and 2 books and consults with government agencies and professional organizations on methods for reviewing evidence and on matters related to preventive medicine. Dr. Woolf is a member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, is active nationally in health services research and public policy, and has consulted in Europe as a visiting scholar. He received his M.D. from Emory University and underwent residency training in family practice at VCU (Fairfax campus) and in preventive medicine and public health at Johns Hopkins University, where he received his M.P.H. He is board certified in family practice and in preventive medicine and public health.