Kaiser, Goodrich to keynote WCHQ Statewide Quality Improvement Event

More than 250 health care professionals expected to participate in major learning event

MADISON (May 3, 2018) —- SSM Healthcare President/CEO Laura Kaiser, FACHE, and Chief Medical Officer Kate Goodrich, MD, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), will keynote the 2018 Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ) Statewide Quality Improvement Event June 19 at Monona Terrace in Madison. The focus of the event is “Transforming the Practice of Health Care.”

The title of Kaiser’s presentation is, “Hardwiring Patient Safety, Quality and Experience Across a MultiState Health Care System.”

Since joining SSM Health in May 2017, Kaiser has been focused on ensuring patients and health plan members experience consistently exceptional care and service and that SSM Health ministry is a vibrant part of the communities it serves.

As a multi-state health system, SSM health employs more than 40,000 people and has 10,000 providers located across 24 hospitals, 300 physician offices, 10 post-acute facilities, a pharmacy benefit company, an insurance company and an Accountable Care Organization (ACO).

In addition to her role as chief medical officer at CMS, Goodrich is the director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality. The Center is responsible for more than 20 quality measurement and valuebased purchasing programs, implementation of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and quality improvement programs in all 50 states. The Center’s budget exceeds$1.3 billion annually.

Goodrich will describe the Center’s efforts to transform health care practice that will lead to higher quality and better patient care.

Four WCHQ members will present initiatives that are improving the health of people in their communities. They include: Divine Savior Healthcare, Portage; Gundersen Health, La Crosse; Access Community Health Centers and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

The event annually attracts more than 250 health care professionals who are committed to improving the quality of care patients receive in clinics, hospitals, home health and dental offices in Wisconsin and neighboring states. Registration and more information is available at WCHQ.org or contact Mary Kay Grasmick, WCHQ, mkgrasmick@wchq.org.