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Genovich-Richards to Serve as URAC’s Vice President of Research and Measurement

URAC recently announced that it has appointed Joann Genovich-Richards, PhD MBA MSN RN, editor in chief of the Journal for Healthcare Quality, to serve as the organization’s first vice president of research and measurement. In her new position, Genovich-Richards will help mine and analyze existing data from accredited companies to develop new URAC measurement programs. URAC is the Washington, DC-based independent accreditor that offers more than 20 accreditation and certification programs along the continuum of care. The organization accredits more than 400 healthcare management organizations nationwide.

State News

• Arizona Association for Healthcare Quality (AzAHQ) will hold its 1-day spring conference, “The Risky Business of Quality,” on April 18, 2008, at the San Marcos Golf Resort, Chandler, AZ. The meeting will include an introduction to risk management, enterprise risk management, data, and claims management, as well as presentations by two Arizona hospitals on how risk management can improve safety and quality. For more information, go to www.azahq.org.


• The Florida Association for Healthcare Quality is hosting its annual educational conference in Orlando on April 9–11 at the Rosen Centre Hotel near Universal Studios Theme Park. Three full-day preconferences will target beginning- and advanced-level healthcare quality professionals and will include a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) preparation class. The keynote speaker is James Bagian, an international expert on patient safety. For more information, go to www.fahq.org.


• The Illinois Association for Healthcare Quality (IAHQ) presented its first CPHQ preparation course on February 29. “Two of our star performers in Illinois volunteered to teach the course and used the CPHQ study ‘course in a box’ that we purchased from NAHQ,” said Kathy Self, CPHQ, president of IAHQ. “It was a lot of material to cover in 1 day, but our members stepped up to the plate and did a fabulous job for our state.” Meanwhile, IAHQ’s annual conference, “Quality and Safety Leaders: Challenges and Solutions,” will be held April 25, 2008, at the Holiday Inn Oak Brook in Oakbrook Terrace, IL (6.0 CPHQ CE hours, pending approval by the Healthcare Quality Certification Board). Speakers include representatives from the Joint Commission, MistakeProofing, Press-Ganey, and the Illinois Hospital Association. A brochure is available at www.iahq.net.


• The Maryland Association for Healthcare Quality is holding a 1-day spring conference, "Transparency in Healthcare: Bringing Quality and Cost in Focus," on May 9, 2008, at the Maritime Institute of Technology, Linthicum, MD. Heidi Benson, MS RN CPHQ FNAHQ, NAHQ's immediate past president, is providing a 1-hour update on NAHQ. Other topics to be discussed include transparency from a payer's perspective, the Quality Improvement Organization Program’s 9th Scope of Work, and healthcare reform in Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.mdahq.org.