NQF President and CEO Christine Cassel to Step Down 

Washington, DC—Christine K. Cassel, MD, will step down as the president and CEO of the National Quality Forum (NQF) March 1, 2016, to join the leadership team designing the new Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine. Cassel has led NQF since 2013, advancing its leadership in quality improvement, strengthening its membership base, diversifying its funding and introducing greater innovation and efficiency to measurement endorsement, selection and science.

“Chris’s leadership of NQF has positioned the organization well to take on the complex issues involved in improving quality and the move toward value-based care,” said Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH, NQF Board chair and president and CEO of America’s Essential Hospitals. “Quality measurement—and NQF’s role in it—has never been more important, so we are decisively moving forward in a national search to secure Chris’s successor.”

A pioneer in healthcare, Cassel was the first woman chair at the American Board of Internal Medicine, first woman president of the American College of Physicians and the first woman dean of Oregon Health and Science University. Dr. Cassel is also one of 20 scientists chosen by President Barack Obama to serve on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). An expert in geriatric medicine, medical ethics and quality of care, she has been a member of the Institute of Medicine since 1992.

“I’m very proud of all that the NQF community has accomplished, and the progress that we have achieved is testament to NQF’s strong foundation, committed membership and talented staff,” said Cassel.

The NQF Board will launch a national search for a new President and CEO next month.

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The National Quality Forum leads national collaboration to improve health and healthcare quality through measurement. Learn more at www.qualityforum.org.