HMS Dean Jeffrey S. Flier announced Jan. 13 that he has appointed a search committee charged with identifying a nationally recognized leader in primary care to serve as director for the HMS Center for Primary Care. This newly created position has been advertised, and the committee will begin work this month.
Interim co-directors David Bates, HMS professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Andrew Ellner, instructor in medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Russell Phillips, HMS professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, will share responsibility for the initial development and implementation of new programs.
Their experience leading the Primary Care Advisory Group as well as spearheading other key initiatives designed to improve primary care education, research and delivery will guide the center’s launch. The interim co-directors will soon announce the first of many new funding opportunities and convene community meetings to guide and advance the work of the center.
Funding opportunities will support faculty and students seeking to pursue innovations in primary care delivery, education and research. Meetings will engage the primary care community—and others with an interest in this field—in helping develop priorities for the center that facilitate and inspire the work of those with an interest in the redesign of primary care. Also, work is under way to plan and create both a virtual home for the center—a primary care website—and a physical home on the HMS campus.
