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Kizer named UCLA medical school's Alumnus of the Year
Kenneth W. Kizer, founding director of the UC Davis Institute for Population Health Improvement and a distinguished professor at the School of Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis, received the Alumnus of the Year award from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA on Oct. 6 in Los Angeles.
Each year, the UCLA Medicine Alumni Association recognizes the outstanding contributions of an alumnus/alumna to the school, to medicine and to society as a whole. Kizer, who graduated from UCLA with dual degrees in medicine and public health in 1976, was recognized for his work in transforming health and health care.
Kizer is an internationally recognized health-care thought leader, change agent and quality-improvement and patient-safety advocate. He is among the few individuals elected to both the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Public Administration. Named among the "100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare" on multiple occasions by Modern Healthcare magazine, he conducts leading-edge research and is at the forefront of efforts that are finding solutions to many of today's health-care challenges.
Among his many accomplishments, he is best known for engineering the transformation of the nation's Veterans Healthcare System -- an effort widely viewed as the largest and most successful health-care turnaround in U.S. history.
At the UC Davis Institute for Population Health Improvement, he is focused on promoting and sustaining the health and well-being of individuals and their communities. Established only a year ago, the institute is leading an impressive array of initiatives with funded projects totaling more than $75 million, ranging from improving health-care quality and health information exchange to advancing surveillance and prevention programs for multiple chronic diseases and cancer.
More information about Kizer, the UC Davis Institute for Population Health Improvement and the Alumnus of the Year award is available online.
