March 15, 2005
Health Care Quality Bridges Political Divide — Clinton, Gingrich Accept 2005 Health Quality Awards
Mary Tyler Moore, Marion Nestle, Brent James also named 2005 NCQA Health Quality Award Winners
WASHINGTON— On Tuesday, March 15th, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) will present Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich with 2005 NCQA Health Quality Awards. The awards, presented every two years, honor individuals and organizations whose energy, efforts and vision have substantially helped improve U.S. health care quality.
Senator Clinton, a longtime advocate of health care reform, is being honored, among other reasons, for championing the call for more rigid standards in the area of health care quality. Among Senator Clinton’s most notable achievements is the introduction of the Health Information for Quality Improvement Act of 2003, which significantly furthers NCQA’s national agenda of measurement, transparency and accountability.
Former Speaker Gingrich will be recognized for his work on quality improvement, diabetes screening, prevention and treatment and on health information technology, including advocacy of the institution of nationwide electronic health records.
Other recipients of the 2005 NCQA Health Quality Award will be Mary Tyler Moore, actress and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation spokesperson, Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, New York University and Brent James, M.D., M.Stat., Vice President for Medical Research, Executive Director, Intermountain Health Care, Institute for Health Care Delivery Research.
The event will draw a Who’s Who in Health Care, including David Brailer, M.D., Ph.D., National Health Care Information Technology Coordinator, policy leaders and industry VIPs.
“The NCQA Health Quality Awards recognize individuals for demonstrating the leadership, vision and energy to make our health care system work better," said NCQA President Margaret E. O'Kane. "This year's awardees have made real contributions to that end, improving the health of all Americans by campaigning against obesity, pushing process reform, promoting enlightened legislation, and encouraging the adoption of health care information technology - these are the things that help every one of us live better, healthier lives."
The National Committee for Quality Assurance is a private, non-profit organization, dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations and providers and is committed to making information about health care quality available to the public in order to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices and decisions.