April 24, 2013— InterCommunity Health Network Coordinated Care Organization (IHN-CCO), the organization responsible for unifying health services and systems in Benton, Lincoln, and Linn counties to provide care for Oregon Health Plan (OHP) members, announced its Community Advisory Council has elected Larry Eby, MD, Albany, as its chair. In a separate action, Rebekah Fowler, PhD, Corvallis, has been hired as the coordinator for the volunteer body.
Eby is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School and practiced medicine mainly as a general surgeon in Ohio, Puerto Rico, and Nigeria and briefly as an emergency room physician in Newport. He has been active in health care access and improvement issues in the Albany and Corvallis areas for several years.
“I am a strong advocate for health delivery reform as a means for improved health outcomes and satisfaction leading to lower cost,” said Eby. “My son, Dr. Douglas Eby, is vice-president for medical services for the South Central Foundation, which is the agency for medical care for much of the Alaska Native population. There he has been one of the architects of a delivery system that is being copied in many other parts of the U.S. and Canada, especially their Patient-Centered Medical Home system. He was in this area about two years ago and spoke to several groups in Corvallis and Albany. I have visited medical homes in Alaska on several occasions and have seen how their system works. This is my strongest asset to bring to any role within the coordinated care system.”
As the Council’s chair, Eby will also serve as a voting member of IHN-CCO’s Governing Board.
Fowler, the Council’s new coordinator, will work with council representatives to ensure that they have the support they need to meet the requirements spelled out by the Oregon Health Authority in its contract with IHN-CCO.
For the past five years, Fowler, a native Oregonian, has coordinated Oregon Health Plan member advisory councils for the Accountable Behavioral Health Alliance. She also worked to develop non-traditional health worker programs within that agency’s five-county region. She holds a doctorate in social psychology and a Master of Science in experimental psychology.
“I look forward to working with the Council and applying my strong commitment to transforming health care through effective collaboration and communication,” said Fowler.
“With the selection of Dr. Eby as chair, and Dr. Fowler as coordinator, our Advisory Council now has all the elements in place to begin their work to oversee a regional health improvement plan that supports Oregon’s triple aim of better health, better care and lower cost of care,” said Kelley Kaiser, chief executive officer of IHN-CCO.
The Advisory Council will also work with IHN-CCO to identify and advocate for preventive care practices, oversee a community health assessment, and annually publish a report on the progress of the improvement plan.
The public is welcome to attend any meeting of the Advisory Council and participate during the public comment period. Meeting dates of the Advisory Council are published on the CCO’s website, samhealth.org/IHN-CCO. Agendas and minutes from Council meetings will also be posted there. Anyone wishing to receive an email notice of events can sign up for this service at samhealth.org/IHN-CCOfuture.
