UNE and USM research teams join forces in state SIMS grant proposal

UNE’s School of Community and Population Health, Research Division, collaborated with USM’s Muskie School of Public Service, Cutler Institute for Health and Social Policy, to develop a grant proposal to evaluate the Maine State Innovations Model Systems (SIMS) – a $33 million three-year grant awarded to the State of Maine by the Federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The evaluation of SIMS will involve innovative interventions focused on the Triple Aim goals of improving the health of Maine’s population, improving the patient’s experience of care, and achieving better care at lower cost, with the attendant goal of systems change.  Research staff from both institutions collaborated under the leadership of Ronald Deprez, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of Research Programs, SCPH, and Andy Coburn, Ph.D., from USM, to construct a robust evaluation proposal.

Other UNE faculty and staff members of SCPH involved in this effort include: Praphul Joshi, Ph.D., M.P.H., B.D.S., assistant professor; Carry Buterbaugh, Ph.D., assistant research professor; Allison Morrill, J.D., Ph.D., Healthy Maine Partnerships Evaluation; Kira Rodriguez, M.H.S., research associate; Hank Stabler, M.P.H., research associate; Gary Cattabriga, director of Analytics; Ida Batista, research associate; and Nicole O’Brien, M.A., research assistant. The grant proposal for the evaluation component of SIMS, submitted on November 22, 2013, totals almost $3 million over approximately three years for both institutions.

In an increasingly changing healthcare landscape, SCPH research and evaluation efforts are critical to understanding these changes through health systems and population health evaluation. The joint effort between the UNE and USM shows the ability to draw on Maine’s local capacity and furthers public health research in the state by bringing together a skilled team with diverse expertise.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.