PCPCC Names Recipients for 2015 Advanced Primary Care Leadership Awards

WASHINGTON – Today the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) announced the recipients of its 2015 leadership awards. Dr. Calvin Sia will receive the group’s prestigious Barbara Starfield Primary Care Leadership Award during PCPCC’s Annual Awards Dinner at its Fall Conference on Nov. 11, 2015. Dr. Sia is a retired primary care pediatrician who spent much of his career advancing the medical home concept in his home state of Hawaii as well as nationally and internationally.

“We are proud to honor Dr. Sia for his long-standing commitment to providing patient-centered care to children,” said PCPCC’s President, Paul Grundy, MD, MPH, FACOEM. “Dr. Sia was an early patient-centered medical home (PCMH) pioneer who advocated for the model of care long before the concept was widely known, and his work set the foundation for the principles of the PCMH. His dedication to the medical home was evident throughout his career as he advocated for accessible, family-centered, coordinated, and comprehensive care for all children, especially at-risk children and those with special health care needs.”

The Barbara Starfield Award, sponsored again this year by Anthem, was established in 2012 to honor the work of Dr. Barbara Starfield, whose distinguished career at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health spanned over five decades, and included seminal research that highlighted the critical role of primary care in driving health system transformation. In recognition of exceptional work toward advancing the medical home and person-focused care, the award was presented to Dr. Starfield posthumously in April 2012, to Dr. Richard Baron in 2013, and to Debra Ness in 2014.

“I am so honored to receive this award that celebrates the incredible work of Dr. Starfield,” said Dr. Sia. “I have dedicated my life to improving child health through partnerships between families, primary care, and communities. It is a privilege to be recognized by such an incredible group of individuals who also value and advocate for advanced primary care and the medical home.”

“As a reflection of our support for patient-centered primary care as the foundation of a high-functioning health care system, Anthem is proud to sponsor the Barbara Starfield Award again this year,” said Amy Cheslock, Vice President of Payment Innovation for Anthem. "We are eager to recognize Dr. Sia for his remarkable career dedicated to promoting care that puts families first.”

In addition to the Barbara Starfield Award, the PCPCC also announced the recipients of two additional leadership awards. Christine Sinsky, MD, will receive the Patient-Centered Medical Home Practice Award on behalf of Medical Associates Clinic and Health Plans. The organization is being recognized for its outstanding dedication to promoting transformed primary care that achieves improved quality and access at lower costs, and at the same time improves the joy of practice for clinicians.

“Medical Associates Clinic and Health Plans has long supported patient-centered primary care through its impressive incorporation of medical home elements,” said Dr. Richard Baron, president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine. “We are so pleased that Christine Sinsky and her practice associates will be honored for their commitment to strengthening patient relationships through high-value, team-based primary care.”

The PCPCC will also present the Commonwealth Fund and its Vice President of Delivery System Reform, Melinda Abrams, MS, with the Primary Care Community/Research Leadership Award. The organization is being awarded for its outstanding dedication to promoting a health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency.

“The PCPCC is pleased to recognize the Commonwealth Fund for its impressive ability to collaborate with public and private sector interests, and their tireless enthusiasm for the goals of the PCPCC,” said PCPCC Chief Executive Officer, Marci Nielsen. “Melinda’s long standing support of patient-centered primary care and the medical home is evident throughout her work both at the Commonwealth Fund as well as in her role as co-chair of PCPCC’s Outcomes and Evaluation Stakeholder Center.”

The awards will be presented on Nov. 11, 2015 from 6 – 9 p.m. at the PCPCC’s Annual Fall Conference Awards Dinner in Washington, DC. Click here to learn more about the event and available sponsorship opportunities.

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About PCPCC: Founded in 2006, the PCPCC is dedicated to advancing an effective and efficient health care system built on a strong foundation of primary care and the patient-centered medical home (PCMH). The PCPCC achieves its mission through the work focused on key issues of delivery reform, payment reform, patient engagement, and employer benefit redesign to drive health system transformation. PCPCC’s membership represents more than 1,200 medical home stakeholder organizations and supporters throughout the country. For more information, visit www.pcpcc.org.