Keynote Speaker
Thursday, September 8
E. Dawn Creach, MS
Dawn is passionate about improving health and supporting providers. Her areas of expertise include patient-centered medical home transformation, behavioral health integration, value-based payments, addressing health disparities, health policy, and patient experience of care surveys.
Dawn has more than 19 years of experience in a variety of settings including state government, an independent physician’s association, leading a statewide child health quality improvement initiative, and research and evaluation at Oregon Health & Science University. She has worked with hundreds of primary care clinics, specialty behavioral health organizations and, more recently, supporting organizational wellness and staff vitality.
Creach Consulting Group (CCG) was established by Dawn in 2017 to focus on the intersection of payment and health care improvement. The team at CCG works with insurance plans and providers to improve healthcare by aligning payment with quality and outcomes.
Dawn is a founding member of Oregon’s Primary Care Payment Reform Collaborative, fulfilling the role of an “expert in primary care contracting and reimbursement.” She is also a member of the Integrated Behavioral Health Alliance and the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association.
As a sociologist, Dawn brings a systems-level perspective and a diverse set of skills to help solve complex problems with the needs of patients, families, providers, and communities at the forefront.
Keynote Speaker
Friday, September 9
Tess Miller, DrPH
Tess Miller, DrPH, is currently the Deputy Director for the Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Tess joined the Agency in 2004 to serve as the Senior Coordinator for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. In 2008, Tess became the lead of the Prevention/Chronic Care Portfolio, and in 2015 she helped to launch the new Division of Practice Improvement serving as its director.
Tess began her career at a New York City advertising agency as a Media Specialist. However, her interest eventually turned to social marketing and public health. Tess has worked on a variety of research projects, including: a national demonstration program involving 182 rural hospitals; a national demonstration project designed to transform pediatric care by introducing child development specialists into primary care practices; a three-generation study of Baltimore families; and most recently, Tess was part of the team that led the EvidenceNOW: Advancing Heart Health, AHRQ’s national grant initiative that used practice facilitators to help small- and medium-sized primary care practices across the country use the latest evidence to improve the heart health of millions of Americans. Tess is deeply interested in the power of combining data and stories to effectively communicate evidence and improve health and healthcare.
Tess earned a BS and BA from the Pennsylvania State University. She attended the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, earning a doctoral degree in Public Health and a Certificate in Health Communications.
Funding for this conference was made possible [in part] by 1R13HS027287-03 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.