The Center for Research Strategies would like to congratulate our own, Dr. Paul A. Nutting, along with, Benjamin F. Crabtree, William L. Miller, Kurt  C. Stange, Elizabeth Stewart, and Carlos Jaen, for their published paper: Transforming Physician Practices To Patient-Centered Medical Homes: Lessons From The National Demonstration Project, which, based on online downloads, has made the top ten most read papers published in Health Affairs in 2011.

According to Health Affairs, the paper addresses the role of primary care practices in upcoming health reform discussions and notes “Many commentators view the conversion of small, independent primary care practices into patient-centered medical homes as a vital step in creating a better-performing health care system.”

From June 1, 2006, to May 31, 2008, the authors researched results from the country’s first national medical home demonstration and identified

Dr. Paul A Nutting

some of the difficulties associated with these innovations.  According to the article, “Among other features, the transformation process requires an internal capability for organizational learning and development; changes in the way primary care clinicians think about themselves and their relationships with patients as well as other clinicians on the care team; and awareness on the part of primary care clinicians that they will need to make long-term commitments to change that may require three to five years of external assistance.”

In conclusion, the authors comment that, “Transforming primary care requires synchronizing practice redesign with development of the health care “neighborhood,” which is made up of a broad range of health and health care resources available to patients.” The paper also discusses the requirements for a payment reform system to support practice development and a policy environment to define practical expectations and time frames for the implementation of suitable innovations.

To view Dr. Nutting’s article, visit the Center for Research Strategies website (www.crsllc.org)

Earlier this year, the Center for Public Health Practice of the Colorado School of Public Health solicited proposals from individuals working in any aspect of public health in Colorado for financial support for a 12 month project. The funding for these projects was sponsored by the Colorado Health Foundation. The general purpose of this fellowship is to support scholars to create novel and useful products, as well as to provide academic enrichment for those working in public health fields in Colorado to enhance their professional work.  The Center for Research Strategies’ (CRS) proposal to develop a series of online trainings for the Center for Public Health Practice was selected as one of the Scholars in Public Health Practice awards. A portion of the project manager’s salary was supported with this award.  Kim Riley is the Director of Health Education at the Center for Research Strategies, a client-centered evaluation firm in Denver.  

Kim Riley, MPH, is developing a series of six short “crib note” style online trainings to be posted on the Center for Public Health Practice website for access by public health professionals in the workforce.  Each training module consists of a 20-minute slide presentation about a different public health evaluation topic and includes accompanying worksheets and quick tips designed to assist busy professionals to develop and apply evaluation skills in their work.  The trainings cover a wide range of topics, including: communicating evaluation results, developing online surveys, identifying stakeholders, conducting key informant interviews, designing and facilitating focus groups and employing nominal group technique as a needs assessment method.  The trainings complement the more in-depth, in-person workshops and trainings being conducting by staff of the Center for Public Health Practice, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and other public health partners. These trainings appeal to busy professionals who want to get a brief overview of a particular topic and practical tools they can apply in their everyday work.  These training modules will be available online soon.  To view these and other public health training opportunities, visit the training Colorado Public Health Training Center page.

The Center for Research Strategies is a mission-driven company, focused on translating research into action.  It is a woman-owned, small business that provides policy, research, and evaluation services to non-profit, for-profit, state and federal agencies. The CRS team prides themselves in their ability to work in partnership with clients to improve their ability to serve their intended clients while building program capacity.  All projects operate on team principles with professional staff members collaborating across projects depending on the demands of the project and the expertise that is required.  For more information please visit www.crsllc.org

The Center for Research Strategies is happy to welcome Ashley Brock to our team. A native of Alabama, Ashley received a BA in Psychology from the University of Auburn before attending the University of Texas at Austin where she completed an MA and PhD in Psychology. Prior to joining our team, Ashley completed a post doctoral fellowship in the Center for Health and Addiction at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the MIND Research Network at the University of New Mexico.  “I worked on an interdisciplinary study of high-risk youth using neuroimaging, genetics, and behavior to predict treatment outcomes from health behavior interventions,” she said.

Ashley moved to Colorado four months ago with her family. Ashley said, “I have a wonderful husband named Nathaniel who is an attorney, and a sweet 6-month-old daughter named Aria.”

Ashley brings terrific quantitative skills to CRS and will be working primarily on projects related to youth corrections, systems of care and early childhood mental health. Ashley’s professional objectives are to conduct applied research, supporting non-profit and government agencies, so that they in turn can serve their clients through evidence-based programs.

We are excited to welcome her to our team!