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[Page S2233]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO LAURA ADAMS
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, in 2002, as Rhode Island's
attorney general, I launched an organization aimed at helping Rhode
Island's healthcare system reduce waste and improve care for our
patients. The first hire at the new Rhode Island Quality Institute was
Laura Adams. Convincing her to join us as president and CEO was our
extremely good fortune. As Laura steps aside from those duties, I come
to the floor today to recognize her many contributions to our
healthcare system, in Rhode Island and nationwide, and to wish her well
in her next adventure.
Lowering costs and improving quality in our healthcare system is, to
say the least, a vital purpose. The Rhode Island Quality Institute was
established to tackle some of the main drivers of America's healthcare
problems, to improve health and advance the quality and value of care
in Rhode Island. Under the leadership of Laura Adams, that mission
achieved national recognition. As Laura prepares to leave, the
institute's innovation and expertise is helping improve care around the
country.
Laura got off to a very strong start. In 2002, the RIQI collaborated
with Surescripts to pioneer a first in the Nation, end-to-end
electronic prescribing system. Today, Surescripts has scaled up to
every state in the country, with virtually every prescriber using it.
In 2007, Child Magazine pointed to the State's uptake in e-prescribing
as a key reason for ranking Rhode Island first overall on its list of
the ``Safest Places in the Nation to Raise a Child.''
Laura then turned to another big challenge for our healthcare system:
hospital-acquired infections. In 2005, with Laura as Principal
Investigator, RIQI launched the Rhode Island Intensive Care Unit
Collaborative to identify ways to reduce the incidence of infections
among ICU patients. By 2012, Rhode Island ICUs had shown significant
improvement on several key types of infections.
In 2004, Laura and RIQI joined the Rhode Department of Health to
apply for Federal funding to build an ambitious, innovative statewide
health information exchange. RIQI took the lead building and
maintaining the resulting system, CurrentCare. It took tremendous
technical expertise to confront the complex governance, business,
privacy, and security challenges involved. Laura, with the assistance
of a talented lawyer, Linn Freedman, proved more than equal to the
task. A 2017 analysis shows that CurrentCare returns millions of
dollars in savings to our healthcare system.
Over the course of the development of CurrentCare, RIQI became the
only organization in the country to win all three major health
information technology grants under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act, bringing in a total of $27 million to Rhode Island.
Federal agencies like the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information
Technology awarded RIQI substantial Federal grants to tackle difficult
specialized challenges. RIQI has been recognized by government and
healthcare leaders, chambers of commerce, and leading business
publications for its numerous innovations. It has also been
consistently recognized as one of the best places to work in Rhode
Island.
In the process, Laura has won national acclaim. This year, a leading
national hospital publication placed her on their list of ``Female
Health IT Leaders to Know'' for her ``significant contributions to
health IT advancements, leading large teams, initiatives and companies
focused on improving patient care.'' She has delivered hundreds of
keynotes and presentations in 48 States and a dozen foreign countries.
She has been named a cochair of the National Academy of Medicine Health
Data Trust Initiative Steering Committee, and she has been appointed to
numerous professional and corporate boards.
Laura Adams has poured her considerable talent, experience, and
dedication into making the Rhode Island Quality Institute a national
leader in health innovation and transformation. I thank her for years
of service to Rhode Island and to our healthcare system
nationwide.
____________________