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Dr. Maxine Hayes Joins Altarum Board of Trustees

Posted on: Tuesday, 19 September 2006, 12:01 CDT

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Sept. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Altarum Institute announced today that Dr. Maxine Hayes, the State Health Officer for the state of Washington, has been elected to the Institute's Board of Trustees. The nonprofit Altarum recently sharpened its vision and business strategy on becoming the nation's preeminent provider of objective health systems research.

"Dr. Hayes is a public health professional with years of experience around health delivery systems," said Altarum CEO Ken Baker. "She knows why some systems meet and other systems fail the health needs of our population. Our goal as health systems researchers is to define and design those systems that can best promote health while also making care more readily available, safer and more affordable. This is an exciting match for our organization."

Hayes has devoted much of her professional career to promoting disease prevention and supporting educational and outreach programs that foster healthier behaviors among populations at risk for obesity, heart disease and diabetes, among others. She received the prestigious public health award from the American Medical Association in 2002. During her years of public service in Washington, that state has risen to among the healthiest in the nation.

"Like public health officials around the country, I spend a lot of time talking about the growing epidemic of childhood obesity," said Hayes. "But what we don't often realize is if we want to make a real change, we need to see this as a systems problem. It is not just about taking the vending machines out of schools. It's about engaging new technologies, changing processes, adding new incentives for healthy choices and teaching new behaviors. It is the essence of a systems approach. This is one of the reasons I am so pleased to become associated with a health systems research institution such as Altarum. We can do a lot of good together."

The Altarum Board of Trustees is chaired by Dr. Charles H. Roadman, a former Surgeon General of the United States Air Force. It provides ongoing financial, strategic and governance oversight to the nonprofit. Roadman, well acquainted with Altarum's expertise in the Military Health System, has been anxious to see that experience applied in the civilian sector.

"There are many opportunities for Altarum to begin acquainting the civilian health systems with the best practices that have developed in the military health sector," agreed Hayes. "And I expect there are some things we do in the world of population health that might benefit the military health system. It is an intriguing opportunity."

Dr. Hayes received her bachelor's degree in biology at Spelman College in Atlanta, after two years as a Merrill Fellow at the University of Vienna, Austria. After graduating from Spelman with honors, she attended the State University of New York School of Medicine in Buffalo. Her post-graduate training was in pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., and at the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston. She earned a master's degree in public health at Harvard University.

Maxine Hayes' appointment to the Altarum Board of Trustees is for three years.

Altarum Institute (http://www.altarum.org/ ) is a nonprofit research institution, headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich. Altarum is working to become the nation's preeminent provider of health systems research, analysis and consulting services.

Altarum Institute

CONTACT: Jeff Moore of Altarum Institute, +1-703-575-1685,jeff.moore@altarum.org

Web site: http://www.altarum.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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