HHS Secretary appoints Dr. Mueller to AHRQ national advisory council

Keith Mueller, Ph.D.

UNMC’s Keith Muller, Ph.D., has been appointed to the National Advisory Council for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) by the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Dr. Mueller, chairman of the department of health services research and administration in UNMC’s College of Public Health, is a national leader in health services and policy research, especially in terms of health care in rural areas.

In addition, he has been a grantee of the AHRQ and its predecessor agencies since 1987.

Joining Dr. Mueller are six new council members:

• Nancy Donaldson, D.N.Sc., director of the center for research and innovation in patient care at the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing;
  
• Arthur Garson, Jr., M.D., executive vice president and provost at the University of Virginia;
  
• Junius Gonzales, M.D., dean and professor at the University of South Florida College of Behavioral and Community Services;
  
• Lisa Latts, M.D., vice president of Programs in Clinical Excellence at WellPoint Inc.
  
• Xavier Sevilla, M.D., chief of pediatrics at Manatee County Rural Health Services, Inc.; and
  
• Bruce Siegal, M.D., director of the Center for Health Care Quality at George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.

More on Dr. Mueller Dr. Mueller was a featured speaker in a national briefing on the effects of health reform in rural areas. The forum was organized by the Alliance for Healthcare Reform and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

“These seven new members bring a wealth of experience, expertise and dedication to help AHRQ advance its mission to improve the quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness of health care for all Americans,” said AHRQ Director Carolyn Clancy, M.D. “Their vision will go a long way toward helping the agency continue to achieve its goals.”

The council provides advice and recommendations to the secretary and the agency director on priorities for a national health services research agenda. The council consists of 21 members from the private sector and seven ex-officio members from other federal health agencies.

The committee began work on Nov. 13.