Month: December 2014

New Appointments: Ronald Preston, Ph.D. – Director of Health Policy

Preston, Ronald 2014 JGelineau #20

Ron Preston specializes in science policy and the coordination with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) necessary for states to enhance and sometimes to preserve critical health and human services. He is currently UConn’s liaison to the State Innovation Model (SIM) initiative, a member of the SIM core workgroup and has been the facilitator for SIM workforce initiatives. He is also UConn Health’s lead for eConsult and for the collaboration between UConn and CT’s Department of Social Services (Medicaid). He has a faculty appointment in UConn Health’s Department of Community Medicine as well as the Center for Quantitative Medicine. From 1991 through 2002, Dr. Preston was the associate regional administrator for Medicaid and State Operations responsible in New England for federal oversight of Medicaid and the survey and certification of Medicare and Medicaid providers. For the next three years, Dr. Preston was the Massachusetts’ Secretary of Health and Human Services. During his tenure, he restructured seventeen state agencies, met the budget crisis of the last recession without a reduction in critical services, and designed and negotiated the 1115 waiver that is the mainspring of Massachusetts’ universal coverage reforms. Dr. Preston has worked with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, the University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth Medical School on building collaborations with states to enhance the administration of Medicaid and the delivery of mental health services. While at CMS, Dr. Preston participated in designing and negotiating all of the New England state’s Medicaid waivers, including those that are the foundations for the Vermont Health Access Plan (VHAP), MassHealth and RIte Care. Prior to CMS, Dr. Preston worked for the first military base closing commission, was staff director for the Congressional Coalition on Adoption (1 year), was a deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education (3 years), and a senior staff member of the U. S. Senate Committee on Labor & Human Resources (7 years).

CQM Faculty Outreach to Students at Lewis Mills High School

Two faculty members at CQM, Thomas Agresta, M.D., MBI and Paola Vera-Licona, Ph.D., participated at the Lewis Mills Math and Science Career Day on Wednesday, December 3. Students at Lewis Mills High School in Burlington, CT were invited to spend time with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professionals who talked about their college majors, career paths and current positions in their fields. The day was designed to give attendants a sampling of different areas of study and careers that they may pursue.