VCQ's Fall Quality Conference Featuring Health Care Reform and Achieving Excellence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) October 13, 2010 --

“We are very excited to have two keynote speakers at our conference this year”, says Laurie Emerson, President of Vermont Council for Quality. David Keller, MD is Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Senior Policy Analyst of the Center for Healthcare Policy and Research at UMass Medical School. From 2009-10, he served as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Keller’s presentation, "National Health Care Reform - Where are we headed?" will help to answer many questions attendees have on the federal legislation and how it will impact Vermonters. The breakout sessions will help you to understand:

•Federal Health Care Reform:
o Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)
o Consumer protections and insurance market reforms
o Health insurance exchanges
o Immediate impacts and prognosis for the future

•Vermont’s Health Care Reform initiative and best practices in health system reform:
o Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)
o Blueprint for Health best practices
o Electronic Health Records best practices
o Wellness Program best practices

o Updates from Vermont’s leadership on Bridging State and Federal Health Reform

The transition from the morning to the afternoon will feature a keynote presentation from Heartland Health - a 2009 Baldrige National Quality Award recipient. Curt Kretzinger, COO of Heartland Health will highlight their Baldrige Journey to Performance Excellence and how they are approaching health care reform while improving their systems and processes to attain high performance.

The afternoon session, "Achieving Excellence" begins at noon and will feature Vermont leaders as they share their best practices and lessons learned on their Baldrige journey to performance excellence. Participants will be able to learn how other organizations have developed and deployed processes and systems that have helped them achieve excellence. The afternoon will also feature a World Café to provide participants an active role in networking and learning from their peers.

For further information, please call Vermont Council for Quality at 802-655-1910 or visit our website at www.VermontQuality.org.
Founded in 1996, the Vermont Council for Quality is a non-profit corporation that serves the people and organizations of Vermont by advancing performance excellence through education, assessment and feedback, recognition and awards, networking opportunities, and sharing of best practices within and between local and national organizations. Please visit www.VermontQuality.org to learn more about the conference and register online.

achieving excellence     health care reform     Malcom Baldrige