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April 7, 2004

David Grossman, MD, MPH, named director of preventive care

Leading pediatric researcher joins Group Health

Seattle—David Grossman, MD, MPH, has been named director of preventive care for Group Health Permanente, the largest multispecialty medical group in Washington state.

Recognized for his work in injury prevention, gun safety, and research regarding health services for Native Americans, Grossman served as director of the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center (HIPRC) in Seattle since 2000 and its co-director since 1994.

Grossman’s job at Group Health will be to develop and ensure the continued delivery of preventive care services to Group Health members. He also will serve as a senior investigator at Group Health Center for Health Studies (CHS), leading a group of physician/scientists who conduct research into the design, promotion, delivery, and evaluation of preventive care services.

Grossman said he’s looking forward to broadening the scope of his work in his new position at Group Health, while applying his ideas within an integrated, group practice model. "As I’ve become convinced that the nation’s health care system is broken, I can see that solutions lay in the hands of large, not-for-profit health plans like Group Health," said Grossman. "Also, I’m intensely interested in finding the best ways to prioritize preventive services for a population. With Group Health’s long-standing commitment to prevention, I feel it’s an ideal setting to examine such questions."

Grossman will fill a position vacated by the retirement of Robert S. "Tom" Thompson, MD, who founded the Department of Preventive Care at Group Health in 1975. Grossman, arriving August 1, will also have a clinical practice within Group Health.

"We’re delighted that David has decided to join us," said Stephen Tarnoff, MD, director of the integrated group practice at Group Health. "His experience developing and implementing solid, population-based prevention programs makes him a perfect fit."

Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH, director of CHS, added, "David’s track record at research and research leadership will be put to good use as we develop innovations that benefit not only Group Health members, but the larger community as well."

Grossman is known for his creative and practical approaches to prevention programs and research. For example, his evaluation of a program used in the Seattle Public Schools in the early 1990s was the first of its kind to show that social skills training can be highly effective in reducing physical and verbal aggression among children. A current study, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is testing the effectiveness of locking and unloading guns as a way to reduce suicide and unintentional gun injuries among youth. Grossman’s other research interests have included studies of motor vehicle safety, prevention of dental problems, and improving preventive care services for rural populations.

In addition to his responsibilities at HIPRC, Grossman is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington (UW) Medical School and co-director of UW’s Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, which trains physicians for leadership in health care. A 1982 graduate of the UCLA School of Medicine, Grossman completed his internship and residency in pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He spent three years as a pediatrician for the US Public Health Service’s Indian Hospital in Fort Defiance, Arizona. He then accepted a fellowship at the University of Washington’s Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, where he earned a master’s degree in public health and community medicine in 1990. A member of the UW pediatrics faculty since 1990, he has been a mentor to dozens of new physicians training for careers as clinicians and researchers. He currently serves as chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Native American Child Health.

About Group Health Center for Health Studies

Founded in 1947, Group Health is a consumer-governed nonprofit health care system that coordinates care and coverage. Based in Seattle, Group Health and Group Health Options, Inc., serve nearly 540,000 members in Washington and Idaho. Group Health Center for Health Studies conducts research related to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of major health problems. Funded primarily through government and private research grants, CHS is located in Seattle, Washington.

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