Ronda Kotelchuck Receives Prestigious Healthcare Quality Improvement Award

(New York, NY) - On Tuesday evening, November 10th, Ronda Kotelchuck, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) was awarded the American Public Health Association's (APHA's) Avedis Donabedian Healthcare Quality Award. The award recognizes lifetime achievements in the field of quality improvement and was presented to Ms. Kotelchuck at the APHA's 137th Annual Meeting & Expo in Philadelphia.

The award has a strong history of honoring leaders in quality improvement, including Lucian L. Leape, M.D., Professor, Harvard School of Public Health; Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI); Barbara Starfield, M.D.. MPH, Professor and Director of the Primary Care Policy Center at John Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Health; and Robert H. Brook, M.D. and Sc.D, Vice President, RAND Corporation and Director of RAND Health.

Ms. Kotelchuck is receiving the award for her outstanding achievement in quality improvement. Ms. Kotelchuck co-founded PCDC in 1993 to address the critical lack of primary care by offering low-interest loans to community health centers in New York City. Over the last fifteen years, as Executive Director, Ms. Kotelchuck has led the organization in helping to transform hundreds of primary care practices through a quality improvement approach that directly aligns with core concepts of the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model. This model of care puts the patient back into the heart of the healthcare system through the coordination and integration of care, meaningful use of health information technology, emphasis on management of chronic disease, enhanced access to providers through open scheduling, and the delivery of care in a culturally and linguistically appropriate setting.

From 1981 to 1993, Ms. Kotelchuck served with the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, rising from Assistant Director of Reimbursement to Vice President for Corporate Planning and Intergovernmental Relations. During her tenure, Ms. Kotelchuck spearheaded the development and adoption of HHC's first strategic plan, which focused on community-based primary care as the centerpiece of an integrated system. She also conceptualized and developed HHC's Communicare program, a city initiative which was the predecessor to PCDC.

The Avedis Donabedian Healthcare Quality Award aims to revitalize and impart an appreciation of the work of Avedis Donabedian, MD, MPH. Dr. Donabedian was responsible for developing and documenting the classification methods for Quality Assessment, which remains one of the most frequently cited public health articles in this century. Donabedian, who died in 2000, dedicated his professional life to advancing quality improvement and health services research, writing 16 books and more than 100 articles on the topics.

Click here for more information about the award and a full list of prior awardees.