Jeffrey C. Brenner, MD, Medical Director of the Urban Health Institute at Cooper University Health Care and Executive Director of the Camden Coalition, has been elected to the prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM). The IOM announced the names of 70 new members and 10 foreign associates during its 43rd annual meeting. Election to the IOM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.
“It is an honor to be elected to this distinguished group who has made major contributions to the field of medicine,” said Dr. Brenner. “For far to long our nation has delivered poor quality, hard to access, expensive, and disorganized healthcare services to vulnerable populations resulting in some patients becoming super-utilizers of healthcare services. Our work in Camden has sparked new interest in providing better care to this group of patients, that so many had given up on. I look forward to working with colleagues from across the country, through the Institute of Medicine, to drive a change agenda forward.”
New members are elected by current active members through a selective process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health. A diversity of talent among IOM’s membership is assured by the Institute’s charter, which stipulates that at least one-quarter of the membership is selected from outside the health professions; for example, from such fields as law, engineering, social sciences and the humanities.
The Institute of Medicine is unique in its structure as both an honorific membership organization and an advisory organization. Established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, IOM has become recognized as a national resource for independent, scientifically informed analysis and recommendations on health issues. With their election, members make a commitment to volunteer their service on IOM committees, boards and other activities. Projects during the past year include studies of the benefits of including physical activity in the school environment, direct health outcomes of sodium intake, regional variations in Medicare spending, child abuse and neglect in the US, improved delivery of cancer care, the commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the US, post-deployment needs of Iraq and Afghanistan service members, gun violence research priorities in the US, and the international problem of illegitimate and substandard medications.
“Cooper congratulates Dr. Brenner on this honor and achievement,” said Adrienne Kirby, PhD, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Cooper Health Care System. “His vision has brought important changes to the way we care for chronically ill patients in our region and is making a significant impact on the lives of those patients. This recognition allows Dr. Brenner to share the innovative work being done at Cooper’s Urban Health Institute.”
Dr. Brenner is the Medical Director of the Urban Health Institute, a dedicated business unit at Cooper University Health Care focused on improving care of the underserved. Using modern business techniques, they are redesigning clinical care models to deliver better care at lower costs.
Dr. Brenner founded and has served as the Executive Director of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers since 2003. Through the Camden Coalition, local stakeholders are working to build an integrated, health delivery model to provide better care for Camden City residents. Dr. Brenner’s work was profiled by the writer and surgeon Dr. Atul Gawande in an article in The New Yorker entitled “The Hot Spotters” (1/24/11) and in an episode of PBS Frontline (7/27/11). In 2013 he received a MacArthur Fellowship.
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