Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Names Engagement Team

Veteran Health Care Communications Professionals Will Lead PCORI Outreach Efforts

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has appointed four veteran professionals to lead its communications, outreach and engagement team. They will ensure that PCORI's research is guided by the perspectives of patients, caregivers, clinicians and other health care stakeholders.

PCORI was created by Congress as an independent, non-profit organization charged with supporting research designed to help patients and those who care for them make better-informed health care decisions.

Bill Silberg has been named as PCORI's first Director of Communications. He is joined by Director of Patient Engagement Judith Glanz, Director of Stakeholder Engagement Susan Hildebrandt, and Deputy Director of Patient Engagement Sue Sheridan.

Silberg will lead the development and implementation of PCORI's strategic communications plan, manage media engagement and help to develop strategies to broadly disseminate health information generated by PCORI-supported research. Glanz and Sheridan will make sure that the voices of patients, their families and caregivers, and patient advocates are reflected in the development and execution of PCORI's research, with Sheridan focusing on creating networks and engaging patients across the nation to provide broad-based input. Hildebrandt will lead PCORI's engagement with clinicians, professional audiences and the broader health care community.

"We are excited to welcome a communications and engagement team with immense talent and experience," said Dr. Joe Selby, M.D., M.P.H., executive director of PCORI. "Communicating and engaging with patients, those who care for them, and all of our stakeholders is central to PCORI's mission and critical to its success. Bill, Judy, Susan and Sue position us well to become the most thoroughly engaged research organization that has existed to date."

Silberg brings more than three decades of experience in communications and publishing to PCORI. He joins the Institute from Silberg Consulting, which he founded in 2009, and the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, where was editor-at-large. Previously, Silberg was Vice President for Publishing and Communication at the New York Academy of Sciences, Senior Vice president for Communications and Publishing at the Commonwealth Fund, and Senior Vice President and Executive Editor at Medscape. He spent 13 years at the American Medical Association, holding numerous editorial positions, including web editor at the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"I'm thrilled to be joining the PCORI team," Silberg said. "It's an honor to be asked to help this new institute address the critical challenge of providing professionals, patients and caregivers with the information and tools they need to work together to make better-informed health decisions."  

Glanz has extensive experience in patient engagement, having worked with a variety of patient, aging and consumer organizations. For 25 years, she has helped build consensus around health care issues among consumer, business, and diversity groups among others. Glanz was most recently Director of Health Outreach for AARP, where she built support among a variety of stakeholders for AARP's health policy priorities around health care delivery and quality and the preservation of Medicare and Medicaid. Previously, she played a leadership role in forming alliances and partnerships around health care policy initiatives at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the American Public Health Association.

"It's enormously exciting to be able to help build an enterprise from the ground up," Glanz said. "Because I have worked with a number of patient and caregiver groups at various points in my career, I'm well-versed in ensuring that patient voices are heard.  I've also had first-hand, extensive experience as a family caregiver and so fully understand the vital role of patient advocate."

Hildebrandt is an experienced government relations professional with longstanding knowledge of patient-centered research.  She has more than 25 years of communications, public policy and advocacy experience in health care in Washington.   Most recently, Hildebrandt was Assistant Director for Government Relations at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). She also has held policy positions at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, on Capitol Hill, in a governor's office and a non-profit women's group. At the AAFP, Hildebrandt worked on policy issues including comparative effectiveness research, health care reform, delivery system reform, research, and health information technology, among others.  She also oversaw the AAFP's grassroots campaigns, which was the organization's advocacy communications tool for its members.

"I believe that PCORI is foundational to finding out 'what works' from a clinical perspective, as policymakers debate the future of American health care," Hildebrandt said. "I look forward to working with all stakeholders to help determine high-quality, patient-centered care." 

Sheridan became involved in patient safety after her family experienced two serious medical system failures. Her husband, Pat, died in 2002 after his diagnosis of spinal cancer failed to be communicated. Their son, Cal, suffered brain damage called kernicterus five days after his birth in 1995 when his neonatal jaundice was untreated.

Sheridan is Co-Founder and Past President of Parents of Infants and Children with Kernicterus, which works in partnership with private and public health agencies to eradicate kernicterus. In 2003, she co-founded Consumers Advancing Patient Safety (CAPS), a nonprofit organization that seeks a safe, compassionate and just health care system through proactive partnership between consumers and providers of care. Sheridan served at President of CAPS from 2003-2010.

In 2004, she led the World Health Organization's Patients for Patient Safety initiative, which embraces the collective wisdom of the patient, patient empowerment and patient centered care. She is a member of the Health Resources and Services Administration's Advisory Committee on Infant Mortality.

"My own experience as a caregiver has made me keenly aware of the need for families like mine to be able to make use of the highest-quality information possible in the often-difficult decisions we face about health care for those we love," Sheridan said. "I plan to bring that same perspective to PCORI as we try to give all patients, caregivers and clinicians better information about the effectiveness of their various treatment options." 

About PCORI

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent, non-profit organization created by Congress in 2010. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed health care decisions. PCORI is committed to continuously seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work. More information is available at www.pcori.org.

SOURCE Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute