Originally founded in 1988 to provide an independent review of a Community Health Information Management System, the Seattle-based Foundation has led dozens of evaluations ranging from use of comparison quality standards by consumers to supporting public health agencies in the surveillance of sudden health risks.

Our History

Reflecting on the people and partner organizations who established and have sustained us for 22 years. Based mainly on interviews of former and currently involved Foundation staff and board directors as well as outside collaborating community members, this story attempts to measure the Foundation’s value to the community.

Emphasis is paid to the legislative, regulatory and social context of the times as well as key organizational success factors in describing the Foundation’s inception through its current state. This history is dedicated to all the community members who have helped shape and carry out the vision of creating a cooperative safe table for matters relating to health care quality in Washington State.

The Foundation recently completed a more detailed history of the organization

Governance

The Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors composed of individuals with significant expertise in understanding issues important to patients, physicians, employees, insurance plans, health policy analysts, hospitals, and government agencies.

Day-to-day activities, program management, and planning of conferences, forums, and statewide meetings are conducted by a diverse team of staff members.

Funding

The Foundation funds its activities through contracts, grants, and program memberships and fees.

Strategic Context

Healthcare in the United States is delivered within a pluralistic and competitive marketplace that changes regularly in part to meet the needs of increasingly sophisticated consumers.

To describe the system as complex hardly conveys the range of benefits offered (both by public and private parties), the range of therapeutic options available, or the payment models and public health initiatives aimed at preventing illnesses and promoting healthy lifestyles.

Single institution initiatives may be brilliant, yet are quickly lost in the background noise of other activities. Multi-million dollar investments that take years to implement and many more years to “pay back” discourage quick adoption of potentially dramatic, but not-yet-confirmed, clinical breakthroughs.

The Foundation creates a variety of mechanisms to increase the conversation on these subjects among its stakeholders. With Foundation support, health care leaders and consumers identify objectives that go beyond established borders, identify projects that improve outcomes and constantly attempt to reduce redundancies and administrative complexity.