Judging Panel Announced for $100,000 Hearst Health Prize in Partnership With the Jefferson College of Population Health

NEW YORK, NY and PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwired - September 10, 2015) - Hearst Health, a division of Hearst Corporation, and the Jefferson College of Population Health of Thomas Jefferson University, today announced the interdisciplinary panel of judges for the inaugural Hearst Health Prize. This is an annual $100,000 cash award given in recognition of an organization's or individual's outstanding achievement in managing or improving wellness. The announcement was made by Gregory Dorn, MD, president of Hearst Health and David B. Nash, MD, MBA, dean of the Jefferson College of Population Health, who is one of the judges.

The nine healthcare leaders serving as judges for the 2015 Hearst Health Prize are:

• Nancy-Ann DeParle, JD: Widely considered one of the nation's leading experts in healthcare policy, management and financing, DeParle led the Obama administration's successful effort to enact the Affordable Care Act and managed its initial implementation. She is a founding partner of Consonance Capital Partners, a health care private equity fund that invests in innovative health care companies. DeParle is also a director of CVS Health and Hospital Corporation of America (HCA).

• A. Mark Fendrick, MD: A nationally recognized expert on value-based insurance design, Dr. Fendrick's work focuses on connections between clinician payment, consumer engagement, access, quality and costs. He is the director of the Center for Value-Based Insurance Design and a professor of internal medicine at the School of Medicine and Health Management & Policy at the University of Michigan.

• Tejal K. Gandhi, MD, MPH, CPPS: A leader in leveraging technology to improve the quality and safety of care delivery, and recently recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of the 100 Most Influential People in healthcare, Dr. Gandhi is president and chief executive officer of the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF). She was formerly the executive director of Quality and Safety at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and chief quality and safety officer at Partners Healthcare.

• H. Stephen Lieber, CAE: President and chief executive officer of HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society), Lieber is an established HIMSS leader on issues such as electronic health records, interoperability, technology standards, IT adoption and certification.

• Mark McClellan, MD, PhD: A senior fellow and director of the Initiatives on Value and Innovation in Healthcare at the Brookings Institution, Dr. McClellan is a renowned policy expert and health economist committed to public policies and systems that improve population health. Dr. McClellan is a former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

• David B. Nash, MD, MBA: Named the founding dean of the Jefferson College of Population Health (formerly Jefferson School of Population Health) in 2008, Dr. Nash is a board certified internist who is internationally recognized for his work in public accountability for outcomes, physician leadership development and quality-of-care improvement.

• Valinda Rutledge, MBA, MSN: A devoted proponent of quality improvement, innovation and accountability in healthcare delivery, Rutledge has held a variety of CEO positions within various hospitals and healthcare systems. Currently she serves as vice president of Public Payor Health Strategy at the Care Coordination Institute, Greenville Healthcare System. She previously worked within the Patient Care Models Group at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).

• James M. Schibanoff, MD: A consultant to Hearst Health and former editor-in-chief of the Milliman Care Guidelines (now MCG) from 1998 until 2012, Dr. Schibanoff supervised editorial and peer review of care guidelines and analysis of the evidence used to inform their development. Prior to Milliman, he served as the CEO of Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego.

• Mark D. Smith, MD, MBA: Acclaimed for his experience in identifying and evaluating high-quality health programs and interventions, Dr. Smith was the founding president of the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) and former executive vice president of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. He is a professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco.

Full bios can be found at Jefferson.edu/HearstHealthJudges

"It is an honor to partner with such a distinguished group of healthcare authorities," Dorn said. "All of the judges' careers are dedicated to improving health outcomes through policy and practice. It is their collective judgment that assures the Hearst Health Prize meaningfully contributes to this field's body of work."

"I look forward to collaborating with my fellow judges, learning about innovative programs across the country that are advancing population health and sharing these best practices," Nash said.

The Hearst Health Prize is now accepting submissions from institutions and individuals who have demonstrated measurably-improved outcomes in managing the health of a population. The judges, in conjunction with faculty from the Jefferson College of Population Health, will evaluate applications based on the following criteria:

• Population health impact or outcome, demonstrated by measurable improvement
• Use of evidence-based interventions and best practices to improve the quality of care
• Scalability and sustainability
• Promotion of engagement, collaboration and communication
• Innovation

For full details about the Hearst Health Prize, including eligibility, submission criteria and application, and competition rules, please visit www.jefferson.edu/HearstHealthPrize.

Notable dates for the 2015 Hearst Health Prize:

• October 23, 2015: Closing date for submissions
• January 2016: Finalists notified
• March 7, 2016: Finalists will present at a special poster session at the Population Health Colloquium in Philadelphia
• March 8, 2016: Winner of the $100,000 Hearst Health Prize will be announced at the Population Health Colloquium

About Hearst Health
The Hearst Health network includes FDB (First Databank), Zynx Health, MCG, Homecare Homebase, Hearst Health International, Hearst Health Ventures and the Hearst Health Innovation Lab (www.hearsthealth.com). The mission of the Hearst Health network is to help guide the most important care moments by delivering vital information into the hands of everyone who touches a person's health journey. Each year in the U.S., care guidance from the Hearst Health network reaches 84 percent of discharged patients, 174 million insured individuals, 35 million home health visits, and 4 billion prescriptions.

About the Jefferson College of Population Health
The Jefferson College of Population Health (JCPH) is the first and only school of its kind in the country. Established in 2008, it is part of Thomas Jefferson University, a leading academic health center founded in Philadelphia in 1824 as Jefferson Medical College (now Sidney Kimmel Medical College). The College is dedicated to exploring the policies and forces that define the health and well-being of populations. Its mission is to prepare leaders with global vision to examine the social determinants of health and to evaluate, develop and implement health policies and systems that will improve the health of populations and thereby enhance the quality of life. Jefferson College of Population Health provides exemplary graduate academic programming in population health, public health, health policy, healthcare quality and safety, and health outcomes research. Its educational offerings are enhanced by research, publications and continuing education and professional development offerings in these areas.