Contributors

 Scott Armstrong
President and Chief Executive Officer
Group Health Cooperative

Scott Armstrong is president and CEO of Group Health Cooperative, one of the nation’s largest consumer-governed health care systems. Armstrong has been with Group Health since 1986 in positions ranging from assistant hospital administrator to chief operating officer. He became president and CEO in January 2005.

Armstrong has more than 25 years of experience in health care and was the assistant vice president for hospital operations at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, before joining Group Health.

Armstrong received his bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College in New York and a master’s degree in business with a concentration in hospital administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Armstrong is a board member of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, America’s Health Insurance Plans, and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. He is also chair of the Board of the Pacific Science Center and a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Michael Soman, MD
President and Chief Medical Executive,  Group Health Permanente
Executive Medical Director, Group Health Cooperative

Michael Soman, MD, leads Group Health Permanente, a professional corporation of more than 900 physicians and clinicians who provide and manage medical services for Group Health Cooperative. He continues to serve as the executive medical director of the Group Practice Division, overseeing the care of nearly 400,000 patients in Group Health-operated medical facilities.

Dr. Soman has been with Group Health since 1984 in a variety of roles. He previously served as the executive medical director for the Puget Sound Region, and before that as the medical director for primary care at Group Health, overseeing 20 primary care facilities. In addition, he practiced as a family physician in Group Health medical centers for 17 years, beginning his Group Health career at the Burien Medical Center. He was a clinic chief for 14 of those 17 years.

Soman earned his medical degree from University of California, Davis in 1978. He has been a volunteer teacher for Bainbridge Island schools, a soccer coach, and was a longtime member of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

 Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH, MACP
Executive Director and Senior Investigator

Eric B. Larson’s research has changed how people think about healthy aging. Group Health Research Institute’s (GHRI) executive director since 2002, Dr. Larson is a member of the Institute of Medicine and a national leader in geriatrics research.

A general internist, Dr. Larson has pursued an array of research, ranging from clinical interests such as Alzheimer’s disease and genomics to health services research involving technology assessment, cost-effectiveness analysis, and quality improvement. His research on aging includes a longstanding collaboration between Group Health and the University of Washington (UW) called the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study. ACT’s many groundbreaking results include news linking exercise to later onset of dementia. Several of Dr. Larson’s research projects are related to promoting successful aging and high functioning in seniors. With colleagues at the UW, he is executive co-producer of the Art of Aging, a news-magazine series now showing on public television.

As the Institute’s director, Dr. Larson strives to keep GHRI on the cutting edge of health research. He has provided leadership on several new initiatives, including serving as principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health Roadmap project to expand the capacity of the HMO Research Network, launching GHRI research programs in health informatics and obesity, and evaluating the Medical Home model at Group Health. In 2008, Dr. Larson facilitated Group Health’s inclusion in the UW’s new Northwest Institute for Genetic Medicine, a collaboration among local research institutions to support the translation of genetic research into clinical care. He has also invited many additional UW researchers to serve as GHRI affiliate investigators, established a formal affiliation agreement with the UW School of Public Health, and strengthened the Institute’s relationship with its partners in the Group Health care-delivery system.

Dr. Larson served as medical director for the UW Medical Center and associate dean for clinical affairs at its medical school from 1989 to 2002. He is a member and past president of the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM), having received their highest honor, the Robert J. Glaser Award, in 2004. Dr. Larson is also a Master of the American College of Physicians (ACP) and served on their Board of Regents for nearly a decade, including one term as chair. He has been a commissioner on The Joint Commission since 1999.

Dr. Larson maintains a small but long-standing internal medicine practice.

 Pam MacEwan
Executive Vice President, Public Affairs and Governance

Pam MacEwan is responsible for communications, public policy, and the Governance Services office, which supports the Board of Trustees and consumer participation. She has been with Group Health since 1995 and was the senior executive director of Governance Services prior to assuming her current position.

MacEwan is a steering committee member for the King County Health Action Plan. She serves as vice chair for the Seattle Alliance for Education and chair of the Education Investment Task Force. She is vice chair of 826 Seattle and serves on the boards of the Business Partners for Early Learning and Association of Washington Business. She also is on the policy committee of the Washington State Hospital Association. MacEwan holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Evergreen State College and a master’s degree in arts/teaching from Brown University.

 

 Robert O’Brien
Executive Vice President, Health Plan Division

Robert O’Brien is executive vice president, Health Plan Division, for Group Health Cooperative, one of the nation’s largest consumer-governed health care systems. Bob is a member of Group Health’s Executive Leadership Team, reporting to CEO Scott Armstrong.

Bob is responsible for Group Health’s market research, product management, marketing, sales and account management, network services and care management, and health plan administration and operations.

Bob joined Group Health in 2008 from Mercer, a global consulting subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Cos. He led Mercer’s health and benefits consulting business in the United States for a decade, and in the Americas from 2004. He also chaired Mercer’s global health care practice and advised the Care-Focused Purchasing Governance Committee, an employer-led effort to accelerate cost and quality transformation of the US health care system. Earlier in his career, he taught health care finance and insurance as adjunct professor at Lewis and Clark College’s Northwestern School of Law. He holds an A.B., Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University and a J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law, where he was articles editor of the Maine Law Review.

Bob is a member of the Boards of Directors of the Seattle Sports Commission and the Puget Sound Health Care Alliance. He is a director emeritus of the Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason Medical Center and of the Seattle Symphony. He also is an active member of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, The Oregon Bar, The American Bar Association, the American Health Lawyers Association, and the National Business Group on Health.

Karen Merrikin, JD
Senior Policy Advisor

Karen Merrikin joined the Public Policy and Government Relations department of Group Health Cooperative in 1997 due to her longstanding interest in improving health care quality, access, and cost. She has also served as Group Health’s associate general counsel, and is the author of articles and presentations on health care law, policy and ethics.

Karen currently sits on several community boards, including the City Club of Seattle Board of Governors, the Washington Health Insurance Pool Board of Directors, and the Association of Washington Healthcare Plans Board of Directors. She also is a member of the Children’s Health Innovation Implementation Committee, the Puget Sound Health Alliance communications committee, the Health Insurance Partnership Technical Advisory Committee, the public policy advisory committees of the Washington Health Foundation and the Washington State Hospital Association and the Parent Council of her daughter’s high school. She is a past president of the Washington State Society of Healthcare Attorneys

Karen earned her law degree from the University of Washington School of Law and has a B.A. in Political Science from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.

 Diana Birkett Rakow
Executive Director of Public Policy

Diana Birkett is the Executive Director of Public Policy Group Health Cooperative. She leads a team that works to track and influence policy at both the state and federal levels to improve the health care system. She acts as a liaison to the U.S. Congress, the Washington State Legislature, federal and state agencies, and national coalitions and trade associations to promote affordable quality health care.

Prior to her work with Group Health, Ms. Birkett served in Washington, D.C. as Health Policy Advisor to the Democratic Staff of the United States Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and to Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Ranking Member of the Committee. Ms. Birkett was a 2003-2004 David Winston Health Policy Fellow, is a graduate of the University of Washington, where she received a Masters in Public Health focusing on public health nutrition and a Masters in Public Administration, and of Harvard University where she received her BA in Chemistry.

Ms. Birkett lives in Seattle, where she also serves as an Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of Washington School of Public Health, and on the Boards of Directors for the Economic Opportunity Institute and the Association of Washington Health Plans.

Scott Plack
Director, State Government Relations
Scott Plack has been with Group Health Cooperative’s Public Policy and Government Affairs Department since 1999, and has worked at Group Health since 1993. His responsibilities involve state legislative strategy development and management of regulatory and legislative issues. He currently serves as a board member on the Washington State Health Insurance Pool, the Association of Washington Healthcare Plans and the Idaho Association of Health Plans.  Mr. Plack previously served in a policy capacity for two state legislatures; as Senior Analyst for the Washington State Senate Health and LongTerm Care Committee and as Director of the Subcommittee on Health Care for the Texas State Senate. Mr. Plack has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Art’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

 Megan Howell
Director, Regulatory Affairs

Megan Howell is the Director of Regulatory Affairs, within the Public Policy Team at Group Health Cooperative. In this position, Megan is responsible for monitoring regulatory activity, and acting as Group Health’s voice in response to federal regulations. She also serves as a representative for Group Health’s interest in promoting quality healthcare in industry association meetings. Ms. Howell has a strong and diverse background in the health care industry, working for an online retail pharmacy, health insurance brokerage, and another health plan prior to joining Group Health.

Ms. Howell graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor of science in Psychology, and earned her law degree from Seattle University School of Law. She is a mentor with the Seattle Girls School, and a volunteer for the Eastside Domestic Violence Program.

 Stephen Tarnoff, MD
Associate Medical Director, Group Health Permanente / Group Health Cooperative

Stephen Tarnoff, M.D., a family physician at Group Health for 25 years, has also held numerous leadership positions within the organization. Presently, he is an Associate Medical Director at Group Health. Responsibilities include Medicare and Medicaid, strategy and business development, revenue cycle management, documentation and coding, community relations and public policy issues. In 2007, he received a lifetime achievement award from Group Health Permanente.

Dr. Tarnoff  graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Southern California School of Medicine, and did his residency in Family Medicine at the University of Washington. He is Board Certified in Family Medicine. He serves on the Board of the Northwest Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

 David Grossman, MD, MPH
Senior Investigator, Group Health Research Institute

David Grossman brings an eclectic and solution-oriented approach to his work as a practicing pediatrician and medical director of preventive care for Group Health Permanente. As a Group Health Research Institute (GHRI) senior investigator, he leads the Group Health physician scientists who research the design, promotion, delivery, and evaluation of preventive care services.

Known for key research in gun safety, child and adolescent injury prevention, and health services for Native Americans, Dr. Grossman came to GHRI in 2004 after a decade of leadership at the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center.

Dr. Grossman received the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Native American Child Health Advocacy Award in 2007 and has been on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2008, he was appointed to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a leading independent panel of experts in prevention and primary care—and the source of many “gold standard” recommendations for clinical preventive services. Dr. Grossman is now on the advisory board of the Community Outreach and Research Translation Core (CORT), a partnership between Group Health, American Indian and Alaskan Native communities, and primary care clinical and teaching practices in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho (WWAMI). The CORT is one of several Clinical Translation Science Awards (CTSAs) being implemented through the University of Washington (UW) Institute of Translational Health Sciences. Dr. Grossman has been a UW pediatrician since 1990. He is also a professor of health services in the UW School of Public Health.

 Matt Handley, MD
Associate Medical Director, Quality and Informatics, Group Health Cooperative

Dr. Handley is responsible for quality improvement and clinical information technology. He has been with Group Health since 1984, and maintains a primary care practice at the Family Health Medical Center and Group Health’s Capitol Hill Campus in Seattle.

Dr. Handley led the implementation of Epic and MyGroupHealth for both patients and clinicians at Group Health. The electronic medical record is shared online with patients, with over 150,000 patients participations online with their clinical teams.

Dr. Handley has been involved with multidisciplinary teams at Group Health and at Kaiser Permanente’s Care Management Institute in the development and implementation of over 20 clinical practice guidelines. He has been the clinical leader in Group Health’s guideline efforts for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Handley has worked with groups around the country to develop clinical guideline programs and lectured extensively on topics including evidence-based medicine, implementation of clinical guidelines, cardiovascular disease prevention and prostate cancer screening. Dr. Handley fulfilled a six-month appointment with the Ministry of Health in New Zealand, helping establish programs in evidence-based medicine and clinical guidelines.

Dr. Handley attended Northwestern University where he studied biomedical engineering and applied mathematics. He received his Doctor of Medicine at the University of California at Davis and completed his residency training in family practice at Group Health.

Shirley Reitz, Pharm.D.
Associate Director of Pharmacy Clinical Services at Group Health Cooperative

Ms. Reitz is responsible for designing, implementing, and managing Medication Use Management initiatives, leading and coordinating the roles of clinical pharmacists in Primary and Specialty care areas, and providing quality continuing education to pharmacy and medical staff.

 Dr. Reitz has served in leadership roles in pharmacy at the state and national levels. She also leads the innovative program at Group Health that provides consumers with a secure and environmentally sound method for disposing of unwanted medications.

Ms. Reitz is responsible for designing, implementing, and managing Medication Use Management initiatives, leading and coordinating the roles of clinical pharmacists in Primary and Specialty care areas, and providing quality continuing education to pharmacy and medical staff.

 Dr. Reitz has served in leadership roles in pharmacy at the state and national levels. She also leads the innovative program at Group Health that provides consumers with a secure and environmentally sound method for disposing of unwanted medications.

 Katie Coleman, MSPH
Research Associate, Group Health Research Institute

Quality improvement is never easy. But Katie Coleman is finding strategies that make it easier to integrate what’s known about how best to care for patients into daily practice. Her work aims to improve the quality, equity, and long-term viability of outpatient care in the United States.

At the MacColl Institute for Healthcare Innovation, Ms. Coleman is interested in gathering knowledge about how best to deliver, organize, and finance health care—and translating it into practice. She focuses especially on improving the quality of primary care for patients and providers. As a practice coach for several primary care teams in Washington State and beyond, she is exploring various teaching methods to help primary care practices improve chronic illness care efficiently. As part of that work, she leads an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality-funded trial to develop, implement, and evaluate a toolkit to improve clinical quality and financial stability in “safety-net” organizations providing health care to low-income and other vulnerable populations.

Ms. Coleman works with collaborators at the Commonwealth Fund and Qualis Health to help safety-net practices in four U.S. regions become patient-centered medical homes (PCMH) that strengthen partnerships between patients and their primary care physicians. She has also published important findings that have clarified the limitations of pay-for-performance programs in improving outcomes for chronically ill patients. Her other work includes learning how regional collaboratives in states such as Pennsylvania and California can best work together to improve care for populations and exploring how to use data on clinical variation to drive improvement in practice.