Group Health Solutions For Transforming Care
Innovating Through Engagement

Armstrong, president and CEO of Group Health Cooperative, is also a commissioner of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, board chair of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, and a board member of America's Health Insurance Plans and the Pacific Science Center. He is a member of the Community Development Roundtable in Seattle and a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Named one of the "100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare" in 2010 by Modern Healthcare magazine, Armstrong has more than 25 years of experience in health care. He was the assistant vice president for hospital operations at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, before joining Group Health in 1986.

Dr. Brostoff, Group Health Physicians medical director of APPLE (Acute, Post-acute, Pharmacy, Laboratory, Emergency Patient Resources & Options), leads one of three large divisions of Group Health's integrated practice. She has been involved in work to enhance the quality of patient care, improve end-of-life care, reduce unnecessary emergency room visits, improve care transitions, and avoid unnecessary rehospitalizations. Dr. Brostoff is board certified in internal medicine, geriatrics, and hospice and palliative medicine.

Dr. Bruns, Group Health Physicians, Health Plan Division executive medical director plays a pivotal role in Group Health's drive toward growth and affordability. Recent work, focused on helping Group Health uncover ways to improve health outcomes while also reducing costs, has included the successful implementation of the Emergency Department/Hospital Inpatient initiative. Dr. Bruns has more than two decades of experience in health plans, hospitals, and academic medicine. She also served as a clinical professor at Stanford and San Francisco General Hospital.

Dr. Cable, Group Health Physicians assistant medical director for Consultative Specialty Services, is a proponent of using shared decision making tools at Group Health to improve patient understanding of health care options, ensure that patients get care that matches their goals and values, and increase patient satisfaction. He is board certified in internal medicine, and continues to practice clinically as a hospitalist for Group Health at Overlake Hospital Medical Center.

As vice president for Primary Care Services at Group Health Medical Centers, Erikson is responsible for a primary care delivery system that serves more than 360,000 patients. He has been intimately involved in the implementation of the medical home model at 26 clinic locations. He joined Group Health in 1997 as the director of Behavioral Services for Group Health's eastern Washington facilities and has also served as Behavioral Health Services director of clinical services.

Fry, who works in the Group Health Capitol Hill Campus Orthopedic Clinic, helped develop and teach a total joint class at Group Health. She holds a BS in psychology and exercise medicine, and is working toward becoming an RN.

Dr. Karl, Group Health Physicians chief of Radiology, is involved in an enterprise-wide improvement initiative for high-end imaging that's focused on reducing patients' radiation exposure by reducing unnecessary scans. He also represents Group Health and the Washington Healthcare Forum on the state's Advanced Imaging Management Workgroup. Dr. Karl is board certified in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine. His other medical interests include mammography and musculoskeletal radiology.

In his role as executive director of the Group Health Research Institute, Dr. Larson keeps the Institute on the cutting edge of health research. Investigators at the Institute conducted the evaluation of the Medical Home Pilot at Group Health Medical Centers Factoria clinic. As a senior investigator, Dr. Larson's research has ranged from clinical interests in areas such as Alzheimer's disease and genomics, to health services research involving technology assessment, cost-effectiveness analysis, and quality improvement. Prior to his current role, Dr. Larson was medical director for the University of Washington Medical Center and associate dean for clinical affairs at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Dr. McCulloch is clinical professor of medicine at the University of Washington and the Group Health Physicians medical director for clinical improvement. A diabetologist, he has led Group Health in clinical improvement efforts around diabetes care. The comprehensive and integrated approach that has been implemented at Group Health has resulted in improved health outcomes, increased patient satisfaction, decreased utilization of services, and reduced costs.

Dr. Reid is Group Health Physicians associate medical director of Health Services Research & Knowledge Translation. He is also a primary care physician, and an associate investigator at Group Health Research Institute where his research interests revolve around primary care organization and design — and translating preventive care research into day-to-day clinical practice. He is conducting an ongoing evaluation of the transformation of Group Health's primary care model into a patient-centered medical home.

In dual roles as president and chief medical executive of Group Health Physicians, and executive medical director of Group Health Medical Centers, Dr. Soman continues to look for innovative ways to evolve the organization to better serve patients and the community, improve clinical outcomes, and contain costs. He is a driving force behind the recent adoption of the patient-centered medical home, which is now at all 26 Group Health Medical Centers locations. Dr. Soman joined Group Health in 1984 as a family physician. He has served in a variety of leadership positions including executive medical director for the Puget Sound region, and as the medical director for primary care at Group Health.

In her role as vice president of Clinical Excellence, Quality, and Nursing Practice, Trehearne provides leadership, direction, and vision for professional nursing practice across the entire continuum of health care at Group Health. She has held a variety of education, staff development, and nursing administration positions since joining Group Health 30 years ago. Trehearne is an associate dean of clinical practice at the University of Washington School of Nursing, and holds an adjunct faculty appointment with Seattle Pacific University, and clinical faculty appointments with Pacific Lutheran University and Seattle University.

Dr. Trescott, Group Health Physicians medical director of Primary Care Services, was instrumental in moving the medical home model from a pilot project at one clinic, to all 26 Group Health Medical Centers locations. Her visionary leadership earned her the 2009 Group Health Physicians Jerome Beekman Award for Outstanding Leadership. Since joining Group Health in 1979, she helped open the Port Orchard clinic and the first inpatient chemical dependency program, and also served as the urgent care chief at Group Health Medical Centers Silverdale location. She became the medical director of Primary Care in 2005.

Dr. Weaver joined The Everett Clinic in 2002 and is currently the facility medical director of the Advanced Imaging Center. He completed his Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency at the University of Washington, and then entered a fellowship in non-operative spine and sports medicine with an emphasis on interventional treatments for musculoskeletal disorders.

Wood is director of Care Management Services for Group Health, an area she has worked in for the last 16 years. A member of the nursing leadership team, she was instrumental in bringing motivational interviewing — a communication technique to increase patient engagement — to care management. She has been involved with the initiative to improve patient transitions from one care setting to another, and to avoid unnecessary rehospitalizations.