Posted: 5/21/2008
Kathleen M. White, PhD, RN, CNAA, BC, Associate Professor and Master’s Program Director at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, has been named by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley to a new leadership position. As a member of the newly appointed 12-member Maryland Health Quality and Cost Control Council, she will make recommendations to the Governor, state legislature, and executive branch on health care quality improvement and cost containment initiatives and facilitate collaborations in health care across the public and private sectors.
“I am privileged and honored to be a member of this wonderful group of health care and business leaders,” White says. “The challenge before us is large, but the potential benefit to the health of Maryland’s population is even greater.”
Under the Chairmanship of the Lieutenant Governor, White and other panel members representing insurance carriers, employers, health care providers, consumers and health quality expertsare working to develop a chronic care management plan to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of care for individuals with chronic illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. Further, the Council is working to help integrate health information technology in health care systems to ensure that such technology is used to its fullest potential.
White’s extensive background in nursing management, economics, and best practices stands her in good stead for this new challenge, as do her current role as Interim Chairperson of the Maryland Patient Safety Centers Board of Directors and former role as Chairperson of the ANA Congress on Nursing Practice and Economics. She will serve a three-year term on the Council.