Quality Improvement Expert Dr. Ken Kizer Addresses Health Care Reform's Impact on Veterans

September 26, 2011

One of the nation's preeminent authorities on health care quality improvement, Ken Kizer, MD, delivered the keynote address during the Washington, DC VA Medical Center's September Grand Rounds event.

Dr. Kizer, former Under Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and currently the Director for the Institute for Population Health Improvement at the UC Davis Health System, engineered what is widely regarded as the largest and most successful health care turnaround in U.S. history. To a standing-room-only crowd, he addressed the impact of the Affordable Care Act (the recently passed health reform bill) on Veterans' health care and discussed the importance of patient-centered care to health care organizations in the 21st century.

Following his keynote address, Dr. Kizer was joined by Ross Fletcher, MD, Chief of Staff at the DC VA Medical Center; Phillip Longman, author of The Best Care Anywhere; and Paul Glastris, Editor in Chief of the Washington Monthly, for a panel discussion on patient-centered care.

Atlas Research has worked with the Medical Center over the past year to deliver a Grand Rounds series that integrates concepts from communications, culture, research, and patient- and family-centered fields into the delivery of care. The series has featured leading experts from government, industry, and academia who focus on the delivery of quality, patient-centered care for our nation's Veterans. The Washington, DC VA Medical Center is designated as one of five centers of innovation in patient-centered care across the country.


(from left) Ryung Suh, CEO, Atlas Research; Ken Kizer, Director, Institute for Population Health Improvement; Mark H. Chichester, President, Atlas Research.


Dr. Ken Kizer addresses the impact of the Affordable Care Act on Veterans' health care.


More than 150 health care providers attended the Grand Rounds event at the Washington DC VA Medical Center in September 2011.

Event Part of Grand Rounds Series at Washington, DC VA Medical Center Managed by Atlas Research.