OUR MISSION
NDHCRI's mission is to continually improve health and healthcare for the people of North Dakota.
ABOUT US
For more than 35 years, North Dakota Health Care Review, Inc. (NDHCRI), has collaborated with healthcare professionals across the state to improve the quality of care provided to the people of North Dakota.
NDHCRI works toward this goal by serving as the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for North Dakota. As the largest health insurer in the United States, the Medicare program wants to assure that Medicare consumers receive the highest quality and most effective care available to them. To meet this challenge, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) contracts with an organization to serve each state as its QIO.
NDHCRI also serves as the Regional Extension Center (REC) subcontractor for North Dakota. In this role, NDHCRI staff support and serve healthcare providers to help them quickly become adept and meaningful users of electronic health records.
The goal of NDHCRI has been, and continues to be, improving the quality of care for the people of North Dakota by successfully balancing the needs of the providers as well as consumers.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
NDHCRI’s Board of Directors consists of ten members and one ex-officio member. Board member terms are three years in length, and members may not serve more than two continuous terms. To ensure continuity of leadership, two members may serve a maximum of three continuous terms. Board members are elected at NDHCRI’s annual meeting in November, and approximately one-third of Board members are elected each year. NDHCRI’s Board of Directors is compensated at $100 per hour for Board responsibilities. Click here to view a list of NDHCRI's Board members.
HISTORY
In 1974, North Dakota Health Care Review, Inc. (NDHCRI) was incorporated as a non-profit organization with its offices in the state's capitol of Bismarck and Al Strong as the first CEO. The Board of Directors consisted of 15 members with Dr. W.B. Huntley serving as the first chairman of the Board.
Two years later, NDHCRI moved its offices to Minot, home of Strong and Huntley. That same year, Dr. E.J. Laskowski was named Medical Director. He was replaced by Dr. P. Michael Riisager in 1979. Also that year, Mendel Adams was named CEO and Dr. Marvin Towarnicky was appointed chairman of the Board.
Dave Remillard was named CEO and joined the North Dakota team in 1982. Other changes that year included Dr. Robert Ulmer replacing Dr. Towarnicky as chairman and Dr. Towarnicky replacing Dr. Riisager as Medical Director.
In 1984, NDHCRI went from a PSRO to a PRO, and the organization was awarded the contract for the 1st Scope of Work.
Dr. David Glatt, NDHCRI's chairman of the Board, chaired his first meeting in 1986. NDHCRI was awarded the contract for the 2nd Scope of Work in 1987.
In 1989, Dr. Julie Blehm replaced Dr. Towarnicky as Medical Director, a position she held for 10 years. In 1990, NDHCRI was awarded the contract for the 3rd Scope of Work. The 3rd Scope of Work was extended for six months beyond the original contract end date.
The Health Care Quality Improvement Initiative (HCQII) was initiated in 1993, and NDHCRI was awarded the contract for the 4th Scope of Work. The organization's offices were moved to its current location, and the regional office was moved from Denver to Kansas City.
NDHCRI's new logo, mission, and vision statement were adopted in 1995. The next year, HCQII was renamed Health Care Quality Improvement Program (HCQIP), and NDHCRI was awarded the contract for the 5th Scope of Work.
Also in 1996, the bylaws were changed to downsize the Board of Directors to nine members, and Dr. Julie Blehm was named Principal Clinical Coordinator.
Dr. Nicholas Neumann was added in 1997 as Associate Clinical Coordinator. In 1999, Dr. Irwin Epstein was named Principal Clinical Coordinator, replacing Dr. Blehm and Dr. Neumann. In February 2000, NDHCRI was awarded the contract for the 6th Scope of Work. Also in 2000, Dan Stephenson, DO, was named Medical Director and Payment Error Prevention Program (PEPP) Clinical Coordinator.
Dr. Samuel Abbate was named HCQIP Principal Clinical Coordinator in October 2000 and Medical Director in 2003.
NDHCRI began work on the 7th Scope of Work in Februrary 2003. The Home Health Quality Initiative was added to this contract. Dr. Michael Goldstone became NDHCRI's Medical Director in January 2004, a position he filled until January 2006.
NDHCRI began work on the 8th Scope of Work in February 2006, however, the three-year contract ended six months early due to a change in CMS’ contract schedule.
The 9th Scope of Work began on August 1, 2008, with Barbara Groutt as the new CEO. A severe reduction in funding for the program resulted in significant staffing cuts, the largest cuts experienced by NDHCRI. The 9th Scope of Work ended July 31, 2011.
NDHCRI began the 10th Scope of Work on August 1, 2011.
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CONTACT US
Via E-mail:
Staff Directory
Via U.S. Mail:
NDHCRI
3520 North Broadway
Minot, ND 58703
Via Telephone:
701-852-4231 (Minot Area)
1-800-472-4231 (Inside ND)
1-888-472-4231 (Outside ND)
Via FAX:
701-857-9755 (Main)
701-838-6009 (Review Only)