Biographies

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Dennis P. Andrulis, MPH, PhD (Secretary)

Dr. Andrulis is a Senior Research Scientist at the Texas Health Institute in Austin, Texas. He is the co-founder of the National Conference Series on Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations, whose 7th meeting will take place in October 2010. He is a national expert on diversity and preparedness; disparities and healthcare reform; primary care for the uninsured; vulnerable populations and their providers; suburbanization of poverty; cultural competence; and public health performance measures.

Before joining the Texas Health Institute, Dr. Andrulis served as the Associate Dean of Research and Director of the Center for Health Equality at Drexel University’s School of Public Health in Philadelphia. 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.

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 the nation’s 100 largest cities and their surrounding areas titled “The Social and Health Landscape of Urban and Suburban America.” Dr. Andrulis has served on the AIHA Board of Directors since 1992.

 

Jo Ivey Boufford

Jo Ivey Boufford, MD Jo Ivey Boufford, MD, is President of The New York Academy of Medicine. Dr. Boufford is Professor of Public Service, Health Policy, and Management at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine. She served as Dean of the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University from June 1997 to November 2002. Prior to that, she served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health in the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from November 1993 to January 1997, and as Acting Assistant Secretary from January 1997 to May 1997. While at HHS, she served as the US representative on the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) from 1994 to 1997.

From May 1991 to September 1993, Dr. Boufford served as Director of the King’s Fund College, London England. The King’s Fund is a royal charity dedicated to the support of health and social services in London and the United Kingdom. She served as President of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the largest municipal system in the United States, from December 1985 until October 1989.

Dr. Boufford was awarded a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship at the Institute of Medicine in Washington, DC, for 1979-1980. She served as a member of the National Council on Graduate Medical Education and the National Advisory Council for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality from 1997 to 2002. She is currently Chair of the Board of Directors for the Center for Health Care Strategies and serves on the boards of the United Hospital Fund, the Primary Care Development Corporation and Public Health Solutions formerly MHRA. She was President of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (2002 -2003). She was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 1992 and is a member of its Executive Council, Board on Global Health and Board on African Science Academy Development. She was elected to serve for a four-year term as the Foreign Secretary of the IOM beginning July 1, 2006. She received an Honorary Doctorate of Science degree from the State University of New York, Brooklyn, in May 1992 and the New York Medical College in May 2007. She was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in 2005. She has been a Fellow of The New York Academy of Medicine since 1988 and a Trustee since 2004.

Dr. Boufford attended Wellesley College for two years and received her BA (Psychology) magna cum laude from the University of Michigan, and her MD, with distinction, from the University of Michigan Medical School. She is Board Certified in pediatrics. Dr. Boufford has served on the AIHA Board since 2008.

 

Daniel P. Bourque, MBA

Mr. Bourque is group senior vice president of field services at VHA Inc., a nationwide member network of community-owned healthcare systems and their associated physicians. His responsibilities include overseeing eight area offices: VHA Central Atlantic, VHA East Coast, VHA Empire-Metro, VHA Georgia, VHA New England, VHA Northeast, VHA Pennsylvania, and VHA Southeast. He previously served as VHA’s senior vice president for corporate and public affairs. 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, Mr. Bourque 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 to 1998.

Roger J. Bulger, MD (Treasurer, Finance Committee Chairman)

Dr. Bulger was president and CEO of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC) from 1988 until his retirement in 2005. AAHC is a nonprofit organization that seeks to advance the nation's health and well-being through vigorous leadership of the nation’s more than 100 academic health centers.

Dr. Bulger has served as a senior consultant to the Director of the National Institutes of Health’s National Center on Minority Health and Disparities. He is currently serving as the chairperson of the Board of Directors at the Institute for the Advancement of Multicultural and Minority Medicine. 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).


Dr. Bulger has authored or edited nine books on medical issues and health policy, and his tenth—titled "Healing America: Hope, Mercy, Justice, and Autonomy in Health Care"— is currently in press.


Dr. Bulger 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. He 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, the 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; as secretary of the Board from 2004 to 2008; and treasurer and chair of the Finance and Audit Committee since 2009.




Henry A. Fernandez, JD

Attorney Fernandez is the Associate Commissioner for Adult Services with the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH). He is an executive, attorney, judge, public official, and educator with more than years of diverse experience in the public and private sectors. From 1981 to 1986, he served in the OMH Office of Counsel as Assistant Counsel and from 1986 to 1988 in the Capital District Psychiatric Center as Director for Administration. Prior to leaving the OMH in 1988, he organized the newly established Bureau of Investigation and Audit and served as its first Director. He was appointed Deputy Commissioner for the Professions with the New York State Education Department (SED) where he served from 1988 to 1993. In 1991, the Ford Foundation and Harvard University recognized his Nursing Initiative at SED as one of the nation’s top innovative programs in state and local government. While at SED, Attorney Fernandez established the Office of State Review and served as the first State Review Officer on appeals from parents or school districts regarding the placement of children with handicapping conditions pursuant to federal law.

Attorney Fernandez’s experience in complex and diverse matters spans the healthcare field and higher education. Prior to returning to state service, he served as the Village Justice in Cooperstown, New York, as well as held several leadership and executive positions in the private sector. He has managed international and domestic healthcare engagements and management training programs in Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, and Latin America, as well as in the public and private healthcare sectors throughout the United States. Attorney Fernandez served as president and CEO of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (1992-1998). He is a member of the New York State Bar and the federal courts. He is an elected Fellow of the New York State Bar Foundation and he is also an elected Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine.


Attorney Fernandez holds a Bachelor of Arts from St. John’s University and a Juris Doctor from the Brooklyn Law School. He has completed the National Institute for Trial Advocacy Program at Cornell University and the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He has served on AIHA’s Board of Directors since 1993.

 

Donald W. Fisher, PhD

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.

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 healthcare services to more than 105 million patients in 49 states. The average AMGA member group has 286 physicians and 20 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.


From 1973-1980, Dr. Fisher was the executive director of the American Academy of Physician Assistants.


Dr. Fisher has been a member of AIHA’s Board of Directors since 1992. In that capacity, he served as treasurer and chairman of the AIHA Finance and Audit Committee from 1992-1999 and as secretary from 2000-2003. Dr. Fisher served as chairman of the AIHA Board from 2004 to 2008.



Larry S. Gage, JD

Attorney Gage is a partner at Ropes and Gray, LLP, and was the founding president of the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (NAPH). 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.

Attorney Gage has carved out a unique entrepreneurial role in public sector healthcare during his 33 years of practice and government service. The National Law Journal recognized Attorney Gage for this work, naming to its latest list of "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America”. He is a prolific writer and frequently lectures on topics including hospital governance and legal structure, healthcare for the uninsured, Medicaid policy, medical school affiliation agreements, managed care, and international health.

Attorney 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). He has served on the AIHA Board of Directors since 1992, and was secretary of the Board from 1992 to 1999 and chairman from 2000 to 2003.

 

Bruce D. McWhinney, PharmD

Dr. McWhinney has been a member of the Bernard Consulting Group since his retirement as senior vice president for corporate clinical affairs at Cardinal Health, Inc., the country’s largest health supply and services company with more than 45,000 employees. Prior to establishing Cardinal’s department of corporate quality and clinical affairs in 1997, Dr. McWhinney served as President of Allied Pharmacy Management, the third largest pharmacy management company in the United States.

He previously held positions as the director of pharmacy at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Fairfax Hospital Inova Health System, and Madison General Hospital.

The author of more than 50 publications or book chapters, Dr. McWhinney has served as Chairman of the National Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (2005-2006) and of the National Committee on Quality Health Care (2004-2006). He has been a member of AIHA’s Board of Directors since 2008.


Sheila A. Ryan, PhD, RN (Chairman)

Dr. Ryan is professor and the Charlotte Peck Lienemann and Distinguished Alumni Chair, as well as Director of International Programs in Nursing, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing in Omaha.

Dr. Ryan 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 American 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. She served as treasurer and chair of the finance and audit committee from 2004 to 2008 and is the current Board chairman.


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 Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program. Mr. Weinstein has been a member of the AIHA Board of Directors since 1992.

 

M. Roy Wilson, MD

Dr. M. Roy Wilson began serving as chancellor of the University of Colorado Denver (UC Denver) in July 2006. UC Denver consists of a general academic campus with eight schools and colleges and a health sciences campus with five schools and colleges, and serves approximately 28,000 students. He holds elected memberships in the Institutes of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Ophthalmological Society, and the Glaucoma Research Society.

In addition to the board of the University of Colorado Hospital, for which he is the chairman, Dr. Wilson serves on the governing boards of the Denver Children’s Hospital, Auraria Higher Education Center, Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority, Institute for the Advancement of Multicultural and Minority Medicine, Association of Academic Health Centers, Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU), and the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU). He serves as presidential chair for the APLU Commission on Access, Diversity, and Excellence, and the USU Health Strand Initiative. Dr. Wilson was an initial Advisory Council member of the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and served four years as chair of its Strategic Plan subcommittee. He currently serves on the Advisory Council of the National Center for Research Resources of NIH and the FDA Advisory Committee on Dermatologic and Ophthalmic Drugs.

Dr. Wilson received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and his Master of Science in epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health. He performed both his ophthalmology residency and glaucoma fellowship at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Wilson was named president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 2003. In 1998, he was appointed dean of the School of Medicine at Creighton University, and then served as both dean and vice president for Health Sciences from 1999-2003. Prior to that time, he was professor of ophthalmology both at the Jules Stein Eye Institute of UCLA and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science.

Dr. Wilson’s major scientific contributions have been in bridging the fields of epidemiology and ophthalmology. He has delivered more than 200 invited lectures, many of these internationally, and has published more than 300 articles, book chapters, and abstracts.

Dr. Wilson was selected in “Best Doctors in America” for consecutive years from 1996 to 2009. Among his many awards are the Distinguished Physician Award from the Minority Health Institute, the Honored Alumnus Award from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, the Senior Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Gold Citation from Allegheny College, and the Association of American Medical College’s Herbert W. Nickens Award. Dr. Wilson has been a member of the AIHA Board of Directors since 2008.


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