ABIM Foundation Announces New Chair and New Members of Board of Trustees

July 12, 2012 - Philadelphia, PA - The ABIM Foundation announces the appointments of Jackie Judd and Robert M. Wachter, MD, as new members of its Board of Trustees, and the appointment of Donald E. Wesson, MD, as Chair of the Board of Trustees, effective July 1, 2012. Glenn M. Hackbarth, JD, Chair of the Board of Trustees from 2010 to 2012 becomes the Immediate Past Chair. The Board also elected current Trustees Holly J. Humphrey, MD, Ralph W. Gerard Professor of Medicine and Dean for Medical Education at the University of Chicago, to serve as Vice-Chair, and Elizabeth A. McGlynn, PhD, Director, Kaiser Permanente Center for Effectiveness & Safety Research, to serve as Secretary-Treasurer.

Dr. Wesson, a board certified internist and nephrologist, is currently Vice Dean of the Texas A&M College of Medicine and Chief Academic Officer, Scott & White Healthcare in Temple, Texas. He has served on the ABIM Foundation Board of Trustees since 2007. From 2001 to 2008, he served on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Internal Medicine, including a term as Chair from 2007 to 2008. Dr. Wesson is also Secretary-Treasurer of the American Society of Nephrology, an elected member of the American Association of Physicians, and a past President of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation.

"As a widely recognized leader in academic medicine, and former Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Dr. Wesson's experience will prove invaluable as the Foundation continues its efforts to advance professionalism to improve health care," said Christine K. Cassel, MD, President and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine and ABIM Foundation. "Dr. Wachter and Ms. Judd, experts in patient safety and health care communications, respectively, will provide valuable insight and perspective on many of the Foundation's initiatives, including the recently launched Choosing Wisely® campaign."

In her current capacity at the Kaiser Family Foundation, Ms. Judd is responsible for planning and producing video projects, documentaries and webcasts about health care policy. She also moderates events and webcasts for the Kaiser Family Foundation, including Kaiser Heath News, and provides technical expertise to journalists overseas in the coverage of HIV/AIDS. Prior to joining the Kaiser Family Foundation, Ms. Judd was a journalist for National Public Radio, CBS Radio and ABC Television News. At ABC, she was a correspondent for "World News with Peter Jennings," "Nightline" and "Good Morning America." She is the recipient of many awards including National Emmys, an Edward R. Murrow Award, a DuPont, an Overseas Press Club Citation and the Joan Barone and David Bloom awards.

Dr. Wachter, a board certified internist, is Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Associate Chairman of UCSF's Department of Medicine, Chief of the Medical Service at UCSF Medical Center, and Chief of UCSF's 50-faculty Division of Hospital Medicine.

An expert in patient safety, quality and the organization of hospital care, he has published 250 articles and six books. Dr. Wachter coined the term "hospitalist" in a 1996 New England Journal of Medicine article, and is generally considered the academic founder of the field, one of the fastest growing specialties in medicine. He is a past president of the Society of Hospital Medicine. His blog, Wachter's World, is one of the nation's most popular health care blogs. Modern Physician magazine has ranked him as one of the 50 most influential physicians in the U.S. for each of the last five years, the only academic physician to achieve this recognition. Dr. Wachter also began his term as Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine on July 1.

The ABIM Foundation advances medical professionalism to improve the health care system by conducting research on emerging issues in medical professionalism; convening influential health care leaders and other key stakeholders to develop recommendations on how to foster medical professionalism; and disseminating findings to further promote engagement in and adoption of professionalism. As part of this work in spring 2012 the Foundation, along with nine medical specialty societies and Consumer Reports, launched the Choosing Wisely campaign designed to help physicians, patients and other health care stakeholders think and talk about overuse of health care resources in the United States.

The Board of Trustees governs the ABIM Foundation, and both guides and helps advance the Foundation's work in medical professionalism. The Board includes national leaders in quality assessment and improvement, medical education, consumer advocates, policy makers, purchasers and physician leaders who have served on the American Board of Internal Medicine's Board of Directors.

The 2012-2013 ABIM Foundation Board of Trustees includes:

Chair: Donald E. Wesson, MD, Vice Dean, Texas A&M Health Science Center (Temple Campus); Chief Academic Officer, Scott & White Clinic/Hospital

Immediate Past Chair: Glenn M. Hackbarth, JD, Chairman, MedPAC

Vice-Chair: Holly J. Humphrey, MD, Ralph W. Gerard Professor of Medicine and Dean for Medical Education at the University of Chicago

Secretary-Treasurer: Elizabeth A. McGlynn, PhD, Director, Kaiser Permanente Center for Effectiveness & Safety Research

Richard J. Baron, MD, Group Director, Seamless Care Models, Innovations Center, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Christine K. Cassel, MD, President and CEO, ABIM Foundation and American Board of Internal Medicine

David B. Hellmann, MD, Aliki Perroti Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center (JHBMC); Vice Dean, JHBMC; Chairman, JHBMC Department of Medicine

Jackie Judd, Vice President and Executive Producer, Multimedia, Kaiser Family Foundation

Wendy S. Levinson, MD, Sir John and Lady Eaton Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto

Catherine R. Lucey, MD, Vice Dean for Education, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Mary D. Naylor, PhD, RN, Marian S. Ware Professor in Gerontology and Director, NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

John C. Rother, JD, President and CEO, National Coalition on Health Care

Martín-J. Sepúlveda, MD, IBM Fellow and Vice President, Health Industries Research, IBM

Robert M. Wachter, MD, Professor of Medicine and Associate Chairman, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF); Chief, UCSF Division of Hospital Medicine

More information about the Trustees, including brief biographies, can be found on the Foundation's website at www.abimfoundation.org.

The mission of the ABIM Foundation is to advance medical professionalism to improve the health care system. We achieve this by collaborating with physicians and physician leaders, medical trainees, health care delivery systems, payers, policy makers, consumer organizations and patients to foster a shared understanding of professionalism and how they can adopt the tenets of professionalism in practice. To learn more about the ABIM Foundation, visit www.abimfoundation.org, connect with us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.