Research Highlights
Under Secretary's Award for Outstanding Achievement in HSR
VA's Acting Under Secretary for Health, Dr. Jonathan Perlin presented the 2005 Under Secretary's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Health Services Research to Rodney Hayward, MD. This award recognizes a VA researcher whose work has led to major improvements in the quality of veterans' health care, has made significant contributions to the future of Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D) through excellence in training and mentorship, and has enhanced the visibility and reputation of VA research through national leadership.
Dr. Hayward more than met these criteria by being an exceptional health services researcher, excellent mentor, and respected VA leader. As Director of HSR&D's Center for Practice Management and Outcomes Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he has been instrumental in making it one of the elite health services research centers in the country. Further, his work in quality measurement and improvement, especially in regard to patient safety, and in diabetes health care delivery has been innovative and influential. He and colleagues of the Diabetes Mellitus Quality Enhancement and Research Initiative (DM-QUERI) have worked to decrease visual loss due to diabetic retinopathy, decrease high amputation rates among those with diabetes, and reduce rates of morbidity and mortality by facilitating the aggressive treatment of hypertension. In addition, Dr. Hayward has a long and accomplished academic career at the University of Michigan, where he is currently a professor in the Division of General Medicine.
Dr. Hayward gave a thoughtful, and at times moving, acceptance speech during which he provided a snapshot of his family life and his personal journey toward his life's work. His family has a long history of military service, and he is dedicated to improving the health and care of veterans.