I'm thrilled to join the Michigan Value Collaborative (MVC) as a project manager, supporting MVC’s value-based initiatives in cardiac rehabilitation and pre-operative testing, and more. The enthusiasm, thoughtfulness, and dedication of the team has impressed me, and I look forward to contributing my experiences to our efforts.
My interest in the gap between accessible, high-quality healthcare and patient and provider experiences was sparked during my early career as a community mental health worker. The lack of effective psychosocial treatment options often left me feeling ill-equipped to assist my clients. This motivated me to pursue a Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) at the University of Michigan, with a focus on policy analysis and program evaluation in the mental health setting. I was surprised to discover that many evidence-based treatments existed but were unavailable outside academic settings. This realization led me to dedicate my career to understanding and bridging this disconnect.
After working as a research associate at the VA Ann Arbor Veterans Administration Medical Center, I pursued a PhD at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. While there I worked on the first national demonstration project implementing evidence-based practices in community mental health settings in the United States. My research focused on the role of workforce instability in implementing evidence-based practices and the development of an electronic decision support system to aid shared decision-making between care managers and patients.
Following this, I continued my implementation science research at the Ann Arbor VA, University of Michigan, and as an assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. I then took a career break to focus on family responsibilities.
In 2022, I re-entered the workforce, joining the Department of Learning Health Sciences at the University of Michigan Medical School. I worked on a study examining strategies for implementing a cardiovascular risk reduction intervention for patients in community mental health settings. Later, I transitioned to the Division of General Medicine at UM, managing quality improvement projects in primary care clinics. This role solidified my desire to focus my efforts more fully on the quality improvement field.
I look forward to contributing further to enhancing healthcare quality and value in Michigan through my role at MVC. Please feel free to contact me with any questions at ewoltman@med.umich.edu.