Furst Group Secures Chief Quality and Value Officer for the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
April 27, 2023 – Executive recruitment firm Furst Group, which serves the healthcare and insurance industries, recently assisted in the recruitment of Kerin Adelson as chief quality and value officer of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. “As we continue to advance our mission to end cancer, we are committed to improving the lives of our patients and their families and central to that is our strategic focus on high-touch, high-value cancer care,” said Peter WT Pisters, president of MD Anderson. “Dr. Adelson brings tremendous experience and insightful leadership that will help us to advance our efforts in this space and ensure optimal, value-based care for all patients.”
“Dr. Adelson is exceptionally well-suited to this important leadership role, and I am confident her experience, strategic vision and alignment with our core values will serve MD Anderson, our patients and our Cancer Network partners well,” said Welela Tereffe, chief medical executive. “I look forward to collaborating with her and other leaders to advance impactful and innovative quality, safety, and value-based initiatives that consider the total patient experience.”
Dr. Adelson is an accomplished clinician and researcher with extensive leadership experience in delivering high-quality and value-based cancer care. Since 2014, she has served as chief quality officer and deputy chief medical officer at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital in New Haven, CT. In her role, she collaborated with physician, nursing, and finance leadership to implement quality and safety programs and to design new programs in care management, apply clinical pathways to ensure use of evidence-based therapies, and introduce co-managed hospitalist services to improve the length of patient stays.
Her experience in executive leadership has included overseeing payor relationships for oncology services, multidisciplinary centers for excellence, and direct-to-employer strategies. Dr. Adelson also led Yale’s participation in the Oncology Care Model, a value-based payment model from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) focused on delivering highly coordinated oncology care through better patient navigation, treatment therapies aligned with nationally recognized clinical guidelines, and the use of data to drive continuous quality improvement. In addition, she oversaw Yale’s participation in both Anthem’s Oncology Medical Home program as well as the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Patient-Centered Cancer Care Certification pilot – an ambitious program designed to improve oncology care delivery via rigorous standards in advance care planning, symptom management, goal-concordant care communication, care coordination and clinical treatment pathways.
“As one of the world’s most respected cancer centers, MD Anderson has an unparalleled opportunity to impact cancer care delivery on a national and international level,” Dr. Adelson said. “I am tremendously excited to join this stellar community and partner with world-renowned clinicians and scientists to advance MD Anderson’s strategic vision and mission.”
Dr. Adelson is a practicing medical oncologist and clinical researcher specializing in breast cancer, and she has been an investigator on multiple clinical trials for early-stage and metastatic disease. She also is an accomplished researcher in health services and clinical care delivery, with published research and insights on end-of-life care, new models of value-based care and clinical care redesign.
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Dr. Adelson is a current member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s Policy Committee and a former chair of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Quality Council. In addition, she’s a sought-after national speaker on cancer care quality, cost of care, and shared decision-making in cancer treatment – including the value of establishing goal-concordant care with patients.
Furst Group Recruits Chief Nursing Officer for Corewell Health East
Furst Group recently assisted in the recruitment of Kelli Sadler as the new chief nursing officer for Corewell Health East in Grand Rapids, MI. “Kelli is an exceptional nursing leader who brings a wealth of experience with her,” said Ben Schwartz, president of Health East. “We are excited to bring her talents to Michigan to lead our exceptional team of nurses. Kelli works closely with her team and is proud of their accomplishments, including three Magnet designations and multiple contributions to nursing practice. She is also passionate about getting involved in the community.”
As chief quality and value officer of University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dr. Adelson will partner with chief administrative quality officer José Rivera to lead the organization’s medical practice quality improvement efforts and value-based care initiatives in support of the institution’s strategy. She also will be responsible for guiding initiatives aimed at optimizing the cost and quality of patient care and demonstrating value to prospective insurers, with a goal of implementing innovative reimbursement models that increase access to cancer care services here and across the MD Anderson Cancer Network.
The mission of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is to eliminate cancer in Texas, the nation, and the world through programs that integrate patient care, research and prevention, and through education for undergraduate and graduate students, trainees, professionals, employees, and the public.
Healthcare Recruiting
Furst Group, headquartered in Rockford, IL, partners with many of the premier healthcare organizations in the world, from providers and payers to life-science companies and private equity/venture capital firms. While Furst Group’s roots are in managed care, the firm continues to be one of the nation’s leading executive search partners to health systems, hospitals, academic medical centers, post-acute, and hospice and palliative care facilities. Its work with insurers stretches back to the HMO era, yet the firm also teams with life science, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies.
Furst Group also has offices in Phoenix, AZ; Radnor, PA; San Francisco; Brentwood, TN; Chicago; Irving, TX; Minneapolis, MN; Seattle; St. Louis; and Washington, D.C.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
