Khadija Poitras-Rhea, a licensed clinical social worker and experienced program developer, has arrived at UConn Health to serve as assistant vice president for population health.

In this role Poitras-Rhea will support the mission of helping people achieve and maintain healthy lives and restoring wellness by providing patients with tools, education, and support to manage their health and achieve their wellness goals.

“I see this role as a critical component in UConn’s journey toward value-based health care. We will bring together a team to provide patient-centered care that improves quality, reduces cost and improves patient experience,” Poitras-Rhea says. “I was drawn to UConn because of its reputation for innovation and the opportunity to develop programs that can have a meaningful impact on patients, providers and our community.”

UConn Health leadership has identified population health as an area of focus.

“An excellent team has been working on our patient centered medical home (PCMH) glide path, pay for performance opportunities, and practice transformation networks (PTN), as well as other initiatives which will fall under this area,” says Anne Horbatuck, vice president for ambulatory services. “We are thrilled to have Khadija joining our UConn family and look forward to her experience and knowledge to bring us to the next level.”

Poitras-Rhea joins UConn Health from St. Francis Healthcare Partners, where she served as director of care coordination and population health management.