Kaplan elected chairman of IHI board

Dr. Gary Kaplan, chairman and CEO of Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, has been elected chairman of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's board of directors. Kaplan, 60, has been on the board since 2007, and recently placed second on the Modern Healthcare/Modern Physician 50 Most Influential Physician Executives list.

“This is a great personal honor, but more importantly, it recognizes how the physicians and staff of Virginia Mason are leading the way in transforming healthcare,” Kaplan said in a Virginia Mason news release. “Serving as chair of the IHI Board will provide us with opportunities to learn from others as we become even more engaged with thousands of healthcare professionals around the globe who, with IHI, are committed to eliminating waste, improving quality and lowering costs.”

Kaplan replaces A. Blanton Godfrey, who had been chairman since 2009.

Three new members were also named to the IHI Board: Dr. Elliott Fisher, professor at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Lebanon, N.H., and director for Population Health and Policy at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice; Helen Haskell, founder and president of Mothers Against Medical Error, Columbia, S.C.; and Dr. Arnold Milstein, medical director at the Pacific Business Group on Health, San Francisco, and professor of medicine at Stanford University. Millstein was No. 40 on the 2011 list of Most Influential Physician Executives.

“Gary is well-known for his accomplishments in healthcare improvement, and his insights and expertise will be of even greater value to IHI as our board chair,” Maureen Bisogano, IHI president and CEO, said in an IHI news release. “At this juncture in healthcare, the appointment of Gary and additions of Elliott Fisher, Helen Haskell and Arnold Milstein provide critical expertise to advance IHI's work in our four key areas of work: optimizing healthcare delivery systems, achieving the triple aim for populations, realizing patient- and family-centered care and building improvement capability worldwide.”

IHI is a Cambridge, Mass.-based, independent not-for-profit healthcare quality improvement and patient-safety organization founded by former CMS Administrator Dr. Donald Berwick.