UNC Professor earns honorary British title for national health reform work
| May 21, 2007 | |
Photograph of Sheila Leatherman
Sheila Leatherman , a health policy research professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Public Health, has been awarded the title of Honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Sir David Manning, British ambassador to the United States, will present the insignia of the order to Leatherman on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen at an investiture ceremony at his residence in Washington, D.C., this summer. Officials with the British Consulate-General’s office announced that Leatherman has received this honor in recognition of her valuable contribution to reform of the British National Health Service. “In particular, she has carried out valuable research in the field of health care quality, where her publications have become the principal source for policy makers, medical professionals and health service managers looking at health quality issues,” according to the announcement from the Consulate-General’s office. “Her work has been invaluable in the areas of measuring clinical effectiveness and comparing the UK’s performance with the best achieved in other countries. Through this work, professor Leatherman has made a major contribution to how the National Health Service (NHS) can be improved to the real benefit of patients and the wider public.” “It is clear that Sheila Leatherman has had substantive, positive, impact on the British NHS, and that patients have benefited from her efforts,” said UNC School of Public Health Dean Barbara K. Rimer. “At the end of the day, improving health systems is a major contribution, and we are proud that Sheila is one of our faculty members. This is an immense honor for her and for us.” “Sheila has made major contributions to our understanding of health care quality in both developing and developed countries,” said Peggy Leatt, chair of the School’s department of health policy and administration. For the past 10 years, Leatherman has evaluated the impact of the health reforms on the National Health Service supported by two UK Foundations, the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation. Her research has been published in numerous forms, including two books of the same title the Quest for Quality in the NHS (2003 and 2005). British honors are awarded on merit for exceptional achievement or service. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire was founded in 1917, initially to recognize civilians in World War I. This award now honors civilians and service personnel for public service or an outstanding contribution to society. Honorary awards are made to non-British citizens. # # # Minneapolis Star Tribune news story: http://www.startribune.com/1244/story/1193492.htm For more information about the British consulate: www.britainusa.com/chicago. Note: Leatherman can be reached at (612) 922-0037 or sheilaleatherman@aol.com. School of Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
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