in

VISN 11 Ann Arbor

HSR&D and QUERI Centers, projects, Career Development Awards, and highlighted publications in Ann 

Arbor include:

COIN (Center of Innovation): 

Center for Clinical Management Research (CCMR)

Director: Eve Kerr, MD, MPH

CCMR works to implement and evaluate different ways to make healthcare more patient-centered, 

effective, safer, and more affordable.

QUERI (Quality Enhancement Research Initiative): 

Diabetes QUERI Center

Director: Caroline Richardson, MD

Co-Research Coordinator: Sarah Krein, PhD, RN

Implementation Research Coordinators: Laura Damschroder, MS, MPH; Julie Lowery, PhD

The Diabetes QUERI is committed to research and collaborations that promote the use of effective 

care strategies to help Veterans with and at risk for diabetes live longer and better lives.

Currently Funded Projects at Ann Arbor

• ASPIRE: Coaching Veterans to Healthy Weights and Wellness – Julie Lowery, PhD

• Linking National Guard Veterans with Need to Mental Health Care – Marcia Valenstein, MD

• Managing Chronic Pain in Veterans with Substance Use Disorders – Mark Ilgen, PhD

• Risk of Death among Veterans with Depression – Kara Zivin, PhD, MS

• Long-Term Consequences for Veterans with Sepsis – Theodore Iwashyna, MD

• Web-based Support for Caregivers of Veterans Undergoing Chemotherapy – Maria Silveira, MD, 

MPH

• Life Goals Collaborative Care to Improve Health Outcomes in Mental Disorders – Amy Kilbourne, 

PhD, MPH

• Population-based Outreach Services to Reduce Homelessness among Veterans with SMI – Amy

Kilbourne, PhD, MPH

• VA-HRS Data Linkage Project – Kenneth Langa, MD, PhD

• Impact of Interventions to Reduce Violence and Substance Abuse among VA Patients – Stephen

Chermack, PhD

• Morbidity and Mortality Risks with Antipsychotic Use in Parkinson's Disease – Helen Kales, MD

• Developing and Validating a Veterans Affairs Cardiac Risk Score – Rodney Hayward, MD

• Veteran College Students Mental Health and Academic Achievement – Marcia Valenstein, MD

Current Career Development Awardees

• Amy Bohnert, PhD, MHS – Prescription Opiates in Overdoses among VHA Patients

• Paul Pfeiffer, MD, MS – Improving Depression Care Following Psychiatric Hospitalization

• Ann-Marie Rosland, MD, MS – Effectively Involving Diabetes Caregivers in the VA Medical Home 

• Sameer Saini, MD – Medical Decision-Making Screening and Surveillance Colonoscopy 

• Ted Skolarus, MD, MPH – Improving the Prostate Cancer Survivorship Care of Veterans

VA Office of Research & Development • Health Services Research & Development Service

www.hsrd.research.va.gov

11/22/2014
• Akbar Waljee, MD, MSc – Risk Stratification and Targeted Therapy for HELP Diseases in Veterans 

Research Career Scientists

• Amy Kilbourne, PhD, MPH (currently also serving as QUERI Special Consultant, HSR&D Central 

Office)

• John Piette, PhD

Highlighted Publications

• Performance Measure for Lipid Management in Veterans with Diabetes Encourages Treatment 

with Moderate Dose Statins

Beard A, Hofer T, Downs J, Lucatorto M, Klamerus M, Holleman R, and Kerr E. Assessing Appropriateness of Lipid 

Management among Patients with Diabetes: Moving from Target to Treatment. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and 

Outcomes January 1, 2013;6(1):66-74. 

• Same-Day Receipt of Integrated VA Primary Care-Mental Health Services Increases Odds of 

Subsequent Mental Health Visit

Bohnert K, Pfeiffer P, Szymanski B, and McCarthy JF. Continuation of Mental Health Care Following an Initial Primary 

Care Visit with a Mental Health Diagnosis in VHA: Differences by Receipt of Primary Care-Mental Health Integration 

Services. General Hospital Psychiatry January 2013;35(1):66-70. 

• Same-Day Primary Care-Mental Health Integration Services May Facilitate Timely Receipt of 

Treatment for Depression

Szymanski B, Bohnert K, Zivin K, and McCarthy J. Integrated Care: Treatment Initiation Following Positive Depression 

Screens. Journal of General Internal Medicine March 2013;28(3):346-52. 

• Study Suggests Non-Cancer Pain Associated with Suicide

Ilgen M, Kleinberg F, Ignacio R, Bohnert A, Valenstein M, McCarthy J, Blow F, and Katz I. Non-Cancer Pain Conditions and 

Risk of Suicide. JAMA Psychiatry July 2013;70(7):692-97. 

• JAMA Commentary: Benefits of a Patient-Centered Performance Management System

Kerr E and Hayward R. Patient-Centered Performance Management: Enhancing Value for Patients and Healthcare 

Systems. JAMA Commentary July 10, 2013;310(2):137.

• Study Evaluates Changes in VA Care since PACT Implementation

Rosland A, Nelson K, Sun H, Dolan E, Maynard C, Bryson C, Stark R, Shear J, Kerr E, Fihn S, and Schectman G. The Patient 

Centered Medical Home in the Veterans Health Administration. American Journal of Managed Care July 10, 

2013;19(7):e263-72. 

• Veterans with Prostate Cancer Living in Rural Settings have Less Access to Comprehensive 

Oncology Resources than Urban Veterans, but Receive Similar or Better Quality of Care

Skolarus T, Chan S, Shelton J, et al. Quality of Prostate Cancer Care among Rural Men in the Veterans Health 

Administration. Cancer October 15, 2013;119(20):3629-35. 

• “Tailored” Treatment of Blood Pressure May Prevent Many More Heart Attacks and Strokes 

than Current Guidelines

Sussman J, Vijan S, and Hayward R. Using Benefit-Based Tailored Treatment to Improve the Use of Anti-hypertensive 

Medications. Circulation November 4, 2013;e-pub ahead of print.

Search the full list of citations from the Ann Arbor Center at

www.hsrd.research.va.gov/publications/citations/coe_generator.cfm

VA Office of Research & Development • Health Services Research & Development Service

www.hsrd.research.va.gov

11/22/2014
in

VISN 11 Indianapolis

HSR&D and QUERI Centers, projects, Career Development Awards, and highlighted publications in 

Indianapolis include:

COIN (Center of Innovation): 

Center for Health Information and Communication (CHIC)

Director: Michael Weiner, MD, MPH

CHIC's mission is to generate knowledge about the design and utility of innovative health 

information technology (HIT) approaches to improve the quality and outcomes of care. 

QUERI (Quality Enhancement Research Initiative): 

Stroke QUERI Center

Director: Linda Williams, MD

Clinical Coordinator: Dawn Bravata, MD

Implementation Research Coordinator: Teresa Damush, PhD

The mission of the Stroke QUERI is to reduce the risk of stroke and to foster system, provider, and 

patient processes that result in the best possible outcomes for Veterans with stroke.

Currently Funded Projects at Indianapolis

• Evaluation of Risk-Adjusted 30-day Mortality & Readmissions for Veterans with Stroke – Laura

Myers, PhD, MSc

• Improving Pain using Peer RE-inforced Self-management Skills (IMPPRESS) – Marianne Matthias, 

PhD, MS

• System Dynamics to Model Resource Utilization and Transitions after Stroke – Dawn Bravata, MD

• Aligning Transitions of Care for Post-Stroke Patients with Hypertension – Richard Frankel, PhD

• BREATHE in the VA – Angela Rollins, PhD

• RE-INSPIRE: Rich-context Evaluation of INSPIRE – Edward Miech, EdD

• Evaluation of VLER_Indiana Health Information Exchange Demonstration Project – David

Haggstrom, MD

• Care Management for the Effective Use of Opioids (CAMEO) – Matthew Bair, MD, MS

• Quality of Care for Veterans with TIA and Minor Stroke – Dawn Bravata, MD

• Stroke Self-Management: Effect on Function and Stroke Quality of Life – Teresa Damush, PhD

• Comprehensive vs. Assisted Management of Mood and Pain Symptoms (CAMMPS) Trial – Kurt

Kroenke, MD

• Telephone Assessment and Skill-Building Intervention for Informal Caregivers – Ginger Daggett, 

PhD, MSN

Current Career Development Awardees

• Marianne Mathias, PhD, MS – Identifying Strategies to Improve Communication in Chronic Pain 

Care

• Alyssa Russ, PhD – Improving Medication Safety through Human Factors and Informatics Research 

• Jason Saleem, PhD, MS – Circumventing Health IT: Identifying Patient Safety Risks

VA Office of Research & Development • Health Services Research & Development Service

www.hsrd.research.va.gov

11/22/2014
Highlighted Publications

• Article Describes Design and Implementation of a VA Hospital-Based Usability Laboratory for 

Health Information Technology

Russ A, Weiner M, Russell S, Baker D, Fahner J, and Saleem J. The Design and Implementation of a Usability Lab for a 

Hospital Setting: Insights from a VA Laboratory for Health Information Technology. The Joint Commission Journal on 

Quality and Patient Safety December 2012;38(12):531.

Search the full list of citations from the Indianapolis Center at

www.hsrd.research.va.gov/publications/citations/coe_generator.cfm

VA Office of Research & Development • Health Services Research & Development Service

www.hsrd.research.va.gov

11/22/2014