Center renamed Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice
The leadership of Dartmouth College and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
(DHMC) recently announced that James N.
Weinstein is the new director of the Center for the Evaluative Clinical
Sciences (CECS.) Under Weinstein's leadership the center will be given new
status as the Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. The change in
name will be effective August 1, 2007.
James Weinstein
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Weinstein will replace his colleague and mentor, Jack
Wennberg, who is stepping down as leader of CECS. Wennberg founded the
center and has led it since 1988. Wennberg is known for his pioneering work in
evaluating medical practice, in particular the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, a
series of reports he and his colleagues at CECS have written on the status of
medical care delivery in the United States. He holds the Peggy Y. Thompson
Chair in the Evaluative Clinical Sciences and is a professor of medicine and of
community and family medicine. Wennberg will continue to work on his research
at Dartmouth.
Stephen
P. Spielberg, vice president for health affairs at the College and dean of
Dartmouth Medical School (DMS), says: "This is a historic moment for Dartmouth
College. For 30 years under Jack Wennberg's leadership, CECS has transformed
not just our understanding of the problems within our health care system, but
the manner in which we practice medicine, train effective health care leaders
and physicians, and approach the tough questions around variations in the
provision of care. With a new, unique institute dedicated to these efforts, Jim
Weinstein will continue and expand on this critical work."
The appointment of Weinstein was made with the unanimous support of the
leaders of the College, DMS, and DHMC. It represents an enhanced collaboration
among the entities and a greater integration of CECS research, teaching,
leadership training, systems improvement, and clinical practice initiatives
across the institutions.
In a statement from the Office of the Presidents at DHMC, Thomas A.
Colacchio and Nancy A. Formella said Dr. Weinstein's background and
experience is uniquely suited to this new role. "As an internationally
recognized researcher and active clinician, Jim represents the marriage of
probing scientific inquiry with the practical delivery of excellent patient
care. He has innovated and continues to lead in both fields, to the benefit of
those who deliver care and the patients we serve. Jim is the embodiment of
DHMC's mission of advancing health through research, education, clinical
practice, and community partnerships."
Weinstein is professor and chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
for DMS and DHMC, as well as professor of community and family medicine. He
founded the Spine Center
at DHMC, as well as the first-in-the-nation
Center for Shared Decision Making. He is a practicing surgeon, specializing
in lumbar spine surgery and the treatment of spinal tumors. Weinstein received
his D.O. from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1977 and an M.S.
from Dartmouth in 1996.
Weinstein is also a highly regarded researcher and one of only seven people
to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for
the Study of the Lumbar Spine. He is the principal investigator for the Spine Patient Outcomes Research
Trial (SPORT), the largest study ever funded by the musculoskeletal section
of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He is the author of more than 200
published articles and editor-in-chief of the journal Spine.
"I am absolutely delighted that Jim will lead the next generation of CECS,"
says Wennberg. "More than anyone, he understands how our research can be
applied in the real world to improve patient care, reform our health care
system, and produce a new kind of health care leader."
The Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice will build on the
ground-breaking work that Wennberg spearheaded, according to Weinstein. He says
there will be particular focus in the coming months to recruit new faculty, to
support and nurture junior faculty, and to build endowment. Construction of a
new home for the institute has been announced by the College and DHMC, as part
of the C. Everett Koop Medical Science Complex.
"Jack has presented me with an unprecedented opportunity to change the
delivery of care for a nation. The work that he has pioneered along with
brilliant and accomplished colleagues such as Elliott Fisher, Paul Batalden,
Gerry O'Connor, and many, many others is now being recognized and heeded. We
all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us and I am proud and
honored to stand on the shoulders of Jack Wennberg," Weinstein says.
By DEBORAH KIMBELL
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