Overview
As part of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center's commitment to improving child health locally and across the nation, Lisa Simpson, MB, BCh, MPH, FAAP, a nationally known pediatrician and child health services research and policy leader, has been recruited to build on the Child Policy Research Center's accomplishments over the last eight years and expand its impact.
The expanded Center will:
- develop a nationally recognized program of health services and policy research and analysis focused on the outcomes and value of health services for children and their families; and
- promote the translation of this research into national, state and local policymaking through agenda setting and communication activities.
Current programs and projects within the Center will continue as new initiatives are developed. Concurrent with the arrival of Dr. Simpson, Gerry Fairbrother, PhD, is transitioning from the Center for Epidemiology and Biostatistics into the CPRC. Additional faculty and staff are being recruited to carry out the Center's expanded mission and scope.
Initial areas of emphasis in the expanded center have been selected to advance the policy agenda on quality of care and include:
- making quality matter to policymakers and the public by synthesizing and making available information on the quality of care as well as effective strategies to improve quality and eliminate disparities;
- studying the economics of quality, including quantifying the impact of poor quality care and measuring the return on investment from quality improvement activities; and
- examining the role of health information technology in accelerating improvements in the quality and efficiency of care for children, especially chronically ill children.
Examples of expanded activities in the Center are:
- Developing a report on strategies which Congress should consider as part of the reauthorization of the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to promote quality of care for publicly insured children;
- Partnering with the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality (NICHQ) in the development of the policy arm of the Childhood Obesity Action Network;
- Working with state policymakers to craft new policies for expanding and improving quality of public health care coverage for children and families in Ohio
- Developing population measures of child well-being for the 600,000+ children in greater Cincinnati. These outcome measures (i.e. infant mortality) will help determine the effectiveness of efforts to improve quality of care.
Working closely with Edward Donovan, MD, and Gerry Fairbrother, PhD, senior researchers in the Center, Peter Margolis, MD, PhD and Carole Lannon, MD, Co-Directors of the Center for Health Care Quality, hospital leaders, and input from stakeholders in the local, state and national arenas, the CPRC will develop a new plan that is aligned with and furthers the strategic plan adopted in June 2005.
Contact Us
For more information, refer to the Child Policy Research Center web site.
