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The Partnership for Healthcare Excellence Welcomes Two New Board Members

New members bring expertise in public health communication, patient engagement and quality improvement

September 22, 2009 – Boston, MA – The Partnership for Healthcare Excellence, a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to helping Massachusetts consumers improve the quality of health care they receive, today announced the election of two new board members: Deborah Enos, President and Chief Executive Officer, Neighborhood Health Plan, and K. "Vish" Viswanath, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health.

"We are very pleased to welcome Deborah and Vish to the Board," said Jim Conway, Chairman of the Board and Senior Vice President of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.  "The Partnership has made great strides in its work engaging Massachusetts consumers in their health care, but there is still much more to do.  Deborah and Vish bring years of experience and new skills to our board, which will help us as we move ahead with the campaign."

In her role as President and CEO of Neighborhood Health Plan, Ms. Enos builds effective working relationships with external organizations, both locally and nationally, including the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans and the Association of Community Health Plans. In addition, Ms. Enos was honored to recently be appointed to the Special Commission on the Health Care Payment System in Massachusetts.

Dr. Viswanath, Associate Professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, also chairs the Steering Committee for the Health Communication Concentration.  Dr. Viswanath has authored dozens of articles and book chapters on communication and health disparities, public health communication campaigns, e-health and digital divide and the delivery of health communication interventions to underserved populations.

"With the national spotlight on health care, the Partnership has a real opportunity to engage patients in the quality discussion," said Board member Zoila Torres Feldman.  "Over the last two years, we have made progress and I look forward to working with Deborah and Vish over the coming year."

The new Board members join Jack Evjy, MD, Massachusetts Medical Society, Zoila Torres Feldman, Vice President for Care Delivery Systems, Commonwealth Care Alliance, Robert J. Haynes, President, AFL-CIO, Alan MacDonald, Executive Director, Massachusetts Business Roundtable, Peter Meade, President and Chief Executive Officer, Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, Lucilia Prates, Director, Massachusetts SMP Program, Elder Services of Merrimack Valley, Barbra Rabson, Executive Director, Massachusetts Health Quality Partners, and Dana Gelb Safran, Sc.D., Senior Vice President for Performance Measurement and Improvement, Health Care Services Division, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

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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

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