Providence, RI – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is applauding an announcement this week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that four Rhode Islanders have been selected for its Innovation Advisors program. The program will support the efforts of the selected individuals to improve care and reduce costs for patients.
The selected Rhode Islanders are Jean Sanders of Aquidneck Medical Associates in Newport, Nancy Roberts of the Kent County Visiting Nurse Association in Warwick, Dr. Betty Vohr of Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, and Gary Christensen of the Rhode Island Quality Institute in Providence.
“The selection of these Rhode Islanders by CMS is further recognition that our Ocean State is a leader in health care innovation,” said Whitehouse, who founded the Rhode Island Quality Institute during his time as Attorney General. “I congratulate the four Rhode Islanders who were selected, and thank them for their efforts.”
The Innovation Advisors program, launched by CMS in October 2011, will allow each of the selected advisors to work with the CMS Innovation Center to test new models of health care delivery in their own organizations and communities. They will also create partnerships to find new ideas that work and share them regionally and across the United States. CMS selected a total of 73 individuals nationwide to serve as Innovation Advisors from the 920 applications they received for the program.
Funding for this initiative was made possible by the Affordable Care Act.
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