Work involves health care innovation
CARIBOU, Maine — Kris Doody, RN and chief executive officer at Cary Medical Center, was appointed March 2, 2017, to a national committee of the American Hospital Association.
The Committee on Health Care Strategy and Innovation was recently formed by the AHA Board of Trustees to address emerging issues and help member facilities with new tools, education and insights. Strategies include implications from a redirection of federal health care policy by the new administration, affordability of health care, new models of health care delivery, chronic care management, population health, physician alignment and workforce issues, to name a few.
The committee is composed of approximately 18 health system and hospital leaders from around the country interested in thought leadership and knowledge exchange.The committee expects to hold three meetings in 2017. Doody attended the first meeting on Wednesday, March 1, at the AHA Headquarters in Chicago.
“I am very excited to serve on this committee,” said Doody who has just completed a three-year term on the AHA National Board of Trustees. “We have CEOs from large multi-hospital systems, including Tom Prisalec from Cedars-Sinai, Dr. David Feinberg from the Geisinger Health System, and Bill Fulkerson from the Duke University Health System. It will be great to bring the perspective of the rural hospital to the table and at the same time learn from these health systems.”
Doody pointed out that small, rural hospitals can be great incubators for innovation and that hospitals in Maine are already engaged in some dynamic initiatives.
“Here at Cary we have developed a unique model in our collaborative relationship with Pines Health Services a federally qualified health center,” she said. “We have spoken nationally about this model. We have led the formation of the Maine Rural Health Innovation Network through a federal grant, bringing several independent rural hospitals together to foster innovation and shared thinking.”
In addition, Doody said, “Our work with the Veterans Administration has led to a national movement to improve local health care for veterans, particularly those living in rural areas of the country.”
