Biographies

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Donald W. Fisher, PhD (Chairman)

Dr. Fisher is president and chief executive officer of the American Medical Group Association (AMGA). He has been CEO of the organization, which was formerly called the American Group Practice Association, Inc., since 1980. From 1973-1980, Dr. Fisher was the executive director of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, AMGA is a trade association representing medical groups, including some of the nation’s largest, most influential integrated healthcare delivery systems. The premier voice for medical groups in the United States, AMGA members are currently responsible for delivering health care to more than 50 million patients in 42 states. The average AMGA member group has 272 physicians and 13 satellite locations. AMGA advocates for the multi-specialty group practice mode of healthcare delivery and provides a comprehensive package of benefits to its members, including political advocacy, educational and networking programs and publications, benchmarking data services, and financial and operations assistance. Dr. Fisher has been a member of AIHA’s Board of Directors since 1992 serving as treasurer and chairman of the AIHA Finance and Audit Committee from 1992-1999 and as secretary from 2000-2003. Dr. Fisher became chairman of the AIHA Board in 2004.

Roger J. Bulger, MD (Secretary)

Dr. Bulger served as president and CEO of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AHC) from 1988 to 2005 when he retired. Since that time, he served as a consultant to the Director of the NIH National Center on Minority Health and Disparities and, in April 2006, joined the Center’s staff on a full-time basis. Previous positions include president of the University of Texas Health Science Center (1978-1988); chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Medical Center (1976-1978); and executive officer at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (1972-1976). He received the President’s Award of the American Academy of Family Practice and the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions. Dr. Bulger is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and of the National Academy for Social Insurance. He is a Fellow of numerous professional associations and organizations, including: the Infectious Disease Society of America, American College of Physicians, the Royal College of Physicians, and Academy Health (the Association for Health Services Research). Dr. Bulger has served on the AIHA Board of Directors since 1992 and as secretary of the Board since 2004.

Larry S. Gage, JD (Past Chairman)

Mr. Gage is president of the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (NAPH) and a partner at Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy, LLP. Mr. Gage’s previous positions include deputy assistant secretary for Health Legislation, US Department of Health and Human Services (1978-1981) and staff counsel, US Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee (1973-1977). NAPH members include more than 100 of the nation’s largest urban teaching hospitals and health systems serving a disproportionate percentage of publicly sponsored patients. The association supports the development of innovative approaches to public sector health delivery, including the integration of managed care, primary care, and public health. NAPH provides interpretation of laws, regulations, policies and practices, and educational and training programs for public hospital personnel and, in a joint venture with the University Health System Consortium, provides group purchasing and bench marking studies. Mr. Gage has served on the AIHA Board of Directors since 1992, as secretary of the Board from 1992 to 1999 and as chairman from 2000 to 2003.

Dennis P. Andrulis, MPH, PhD

Dr. Andrulis is the director of the Center for Health Equality at Drexel’s School of Public Health. Immediately prior to joining Drexel University, Dr. Andrulis was a research professor at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, where he oversaw projects, prepared major reports, and published on issues affecting urban communities, the uninsured, and other vulnerable populations. From 1988 to 1996, he served as the president of the National Public Health and Hospital Institute (NPHHI), a private, nonprofit organization established to address the major issues facing public hospitals, safety net organizations, underserved communities, and related health policy issues of national priority. Dr. Andrulis co-authored Managed Care in the Inner City and created a cultural competence self-assessment tool for healthcare organizations. He has also developed a compendium and analysis of national data sources on 100 of the nation’s largest cities and their surrounding areas titled The Social and Health Landscape of Urban and Suburban America. While at Drexel, Dr. Andrulis created The Drexel-Health Partners Seminar Series on Innovations to Reduce Disparities in Health Care, which provides students and health community members with opportunities to learn from noted leaders in this field. He is also co-founder of the National Seminar Series on Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations. Dr. Andrulis has served on the AIHA Board of Directors since 1992.

Daniel P. Bourque, MBA (Past Chairman)

Mr. Bourque is group senior vice president of System Operations at VHA Inc., a nationwide member network of community-owned healthcare systems and their associated physicians.  Previous positions have included president of the National Committee for Quality Health Care (1984-1986); deputy administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (1982-1984); and deputy executive secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (1981-1982). He was also a professional staff member of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Health Subcommittee and served as the associate director of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation national grant program. Currently, he serves on the boards of the David A. Winston Health Policy Fellowship and Partnership for Prevention. A member of the AIHA Board of Directors since 1992, Mr. Bourque served as AIHA’s first chairman from 1992-1998.

Henry A. Fernandez, JD

Mr. Fernandez is vice president and CEO of the New York State Historical Association and the Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, New York. From 2000-2002, Mr. Fernandez was the principal of a legal and management practice focusing on corporate governance, compliance, and integrity matters. Previously, he was the president and CEO of the National Catholic Development Conference (1999-2000) and managing director with KPMG, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia (1998-1999). He served as president and CEO of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (1992-1998) and held increasingly responsible positions in New York State government, such as labor counsel, hospital administrator, and inspector general with the New York State Office of Mental Health from 1980 to 1992. He is an elected fellow in both the New York Academy of Medicine and the New York State Bar Association. Mr. Fernandez has served on the AIHA Board of Directors since 1993.

Sheila A. Ryan, PhD, RN (Treasurer)

Dr. Ryan is professor and the Charlotte Peck Lienemann and Distinguished Alumni Chair and director of International Programs in nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing in Omaha. She recently completed board service for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the Robert Wood Johnson Institute of Medicine Health Policy Fellow Selection Committee. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Nursing and an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Dr. Ryan's career includes 22 years experience as dean of two nursing schools: the University of Rochester School of Nursing and Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Dr. Ryan earned her BSN from the University of Nebraska (1969), her MSN in Psychiatric Nursing from the University of California, San Francisco (1971), and her PhD in clinical nursing research from the University of Arizona (1981). Dr. Ryan joined the AIHA Board of Directors in 2000 and has served as treasurer of the Board and chair of the AIHA Finance and Audit Committee since 2004.

Alan Weinstein, MBA

Mr. Weinstein is a consultant to healthcare companies and serves on the board of a number of privately held health services companies. His previous positions include president of Premier Inc; president and CEO of the Premier Health Alliance; and executive vice president of the Illinois Hospital Association. He currently serves on the National Advisory Committee of the RWJ Executive Nurse Fellows Program. Mr. Weinstein has been a member of the AIHA Board of Directors since 1992.

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