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The Partnership for Healthcare Excellence and AARP Massachusetts Host Educational Forum on the State of Quality Care

October 21, 2009 – Worcester, MA – The Partnership for Healthcare Excellence (the Partnership) and AARP Massachusetts are hosting an event to highlight efforts underway to improve the quality of health care in Massachusetts.  Scheduled tonight at the Greendale Branch YMCA from 5:30pm to 6:30pm, the event will discuss the current state of health care, highlight initiatives such as the Patient and Family Advisory Council that address the quality issue, and outline steps patients can take to improve their own quality of care.

"Patients who are informed and engaged ask more questions, and are more likely to receive quality care," said Marilyn Schlein Kramer, Executive Director, the Partnership for Healthcare Excellence.  "This event provides a unique opportunity to inform Worcester residents about asking the right questions and taking the best steps towards improving the quality of care that they and their loved ones receive."

In addition to Marilyn Kramer, the panel will include Harriette L. Chandler, State Senator, First Worcester, Joint Committee on Public Health, Dr. Robert Klugman, Chief Quality Officer at UMass Memorial Medical Center, and Martha Hayward, breast cancer survivor, Founder of Women's Health Exchange, and member of Dana Farber's Patient Family Advisory Council.  Among key areas, panelists will seek to equip attendees with the information and tools necessary to improve the quality of their own care.

"Keeping members of our community healthy is a high priority for the City of Worcester, said Senator Chandler.  "I am delighted to participate in this unique event with the Partnership for Healthcare Excellence and AARP Massachusetts and look forward to supporting their important work in our community."

The event marks one of the first joint initiatives between the Partnership and AARP Massachusetts in their shared mission to create a healthier community.

"With so many options in today's health care system, it's more important than ever to get people engaged," said Linda Fitzgerald, State President, AARP Massachusetts.  "We are honored to work with the Partnership to educate people on ways to proactively live a better quality of life by improving the quality of their care."

For more information on upcoming and ongoing initiatives from the Partnership and AARP Massachusetts, visit www.partnershipforhealthcare.org and www.aarp.org/ma.

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ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP
The Partnership for Healthcare Excellence is the first statewide effort of its kind to focus specifically on patients – helping them to play a greater role in improving the quality of their health care.  The Partnership is a broad-based coalition with participants from every segment of the health care community.  Its members include consumer associations, disease and advocacy organizations, doctors, nurses, insurers, business groups, labor, public health advocates and other health care leaders.   For more information, including a complete listing of members of the Leadership Council, please visit www.partnershipforhealthcare.org.

ABOUT AARP
AARP is a non-profit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world's largest-circulation magazine with over 34.5 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP's 40 million members and Americans 50+; AARP Segunda Juventud, the only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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