Alumni News

Becca Hutcheson Receives Quality of Care Award

Rebecca (Becca) Hutcheson, MSW '98, has received the 2008 NQC (National Quality Center) Quality of Care Award for Leadership. The Health Resources Services Administration, HIV/AIDS Bureau's National Quality Center presented her with the award on September 19, 2008 in Washington, DC.

Hutcheson, Quality Management Program Manager for the Public Health Department of Seattle and King County's HIV/AIDS Program, was recognized for her leadership in developing infrastructure for improving the quality of care received by HIV-positive clients served through Ryan White funds on local, state, and national levels.

The largest federally funded program for people living with HIV/AIDS, the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act of 1990 was named in honor of an Indiana teenager who contracted AIDS through a tainted hemophilia treatment in 1984 and was expelled from school as a result. Until his death in 1990, White was a well-known advocate for AIDS research and awareness. Over the past year, all Ryan White Part A funding recipients in King County were trained in quality improvement methodology, developed and implemented quality management plans, engaged in quality improvement projects, and sought client feedback about their services.

Hutcheson facilitated the process of developing comprehensive, consistent sets of standards for the 20 funded service categories and provided technical assistance to all funded providers in meeting these standards. She also convened the Part A Quality Management Advisory Committee to evaluate and improve on care provided to HIV-positive people in King County. Finally she convened an internal quality improvement committee to focus on Part A program processes and outcomes. This committee has improved several processes that have reduced local providers' time and resources spent on meeting funding requirements.