Marcia Nielsen, Ph.D., MPH, Named New Executive Director of Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative

Veteran of academic, government and non-profit sectors will take leadership Jan. 2, 2012

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) announced today that Marcia Nielsen, Ph.D., MPH, will take leadership on January 2, 2012, as executive director of the organization.

Nielsen comes to the PCPCC from the University of Kansas Medical Center, where she serves as associate dean for health policy and was named the department of health policy and management's Professor of the Year for 2011. She previously served as executive director of the Kansas Health Policy Authority, the leading health care agency in the state. She played a pivotal role in support for public health, consumer advocacy and health care reform, as well as advancing the patient-centered medical home concept throughout Kansas.

"We are delighted to engage this experienced, thoughtful and passionate advocate for primary care," said David K. Nace, MD, vice president and medical director of McKesson Corporation and chairman of the PCPCC's board of directors. "Marci has experience working with industry, labor and consumer groups and understands the value of collaboration to achieve shared goals. Her sustaining energy and devotion to health policy, in combination with her experience at the federal and state levels, will be a valuable addition to the PCPCC.

"We have seen tremendous progress over the past five years as organizations adopt advanced primary care principles and transform to more accountable, patient-centered care, but there is still much to do," he added. "We have demonstrated that the medical home can bend the cost curve and improve patient satisfaction and health outcomes. It will be exciting to work with Marci as she advances our work and leads the PCPCC toward even greater adoption of robust primary care-based systems of care accountable to the patient."

Nielsen holds a Ph.D. in health policy management from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and a master's degree in public health from George Washington University. Her interest in public health began with work as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand and matured through a position as a Senate staffer for Bob Kerrey during the health care reform debate of the 1990s. She also served as assistant director of legislation for the AFL-CIO. She was appointed by then-Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as the first board chair of the Kansas Health Policy Authority, later becoming the executive director, responsible for developing a policy agenda and overseeing administration of the medical portion of state health programs including Kansas Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program and the State Employee Health Program.

"The PCPCC deserves significant credit for using its broad collaboration of partners to advance the medical home concept to the top of the health policy agenda," Nielsen said. "Primary care transformation is the foundation for changes we need to see across the health care landscape. We are still learning about the best ways to engage patients, overcome challenges to implementation for health care providers, and determine the role that payers can and should play. I also look forward to focusing on consumer engagement so we can effectively advocate for the medical home with patients' needs and population health as important priorities."

About the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative

The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative is a coalition of more than 800 major employers, consumer groups, organizations representing primary care physicians, and other stakeholders who have joined to advance the patient centered medical home. The Collaborative believes that, if implemented, the patient centered medical home will improve the health of patients and the health care delivery system. For more information on the patient centered medical home and a complete list of the PCPCC members, please visit http://www.pcpcc.net/.

SOURCE The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative