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Dr. Laura Lee Hall Named President Emeritus of National Minority Quality Forum’s Center for Sustainable Health Care Quality and Equity 

Anna Norton Promoted to President of NMQF’s SHC

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 16, 2023) — National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF), a nonprofit research and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring high-risk racial and ethnic populations receive optimal health care, announced today that Dr. Laura Lee Hall has stepped down as President of the Center for Sustainable Health Care Quality and Equity (SHC). Dr. Hall has been named as President Emeritus and will continue to act in an advisory and project leadership role.  Anna Norton, who previously served as Vice President for Community Engagement, has been named President of SHC.

Dr. Hall founded SHC in 2017, as part of the National Minority Quality Forum, to help translate data, geomaps, and educational efforts into improved health in underserved communities, through provider and community education and practice improvement. With her guidance, SHC has launched national initiatives in flu and COVID-19 vaccination, diabetes, heart failure, and cancer screenings, working with FQHCs, other clinics, pharmacists, Churches, and other community leaders. Dr. Hall has spearheaded the development of several quality improvement toolkits for clinicians and pharmacists under the DRIVE program.

Additionally, under her leadership, SHC has created several programs to train community leaders on delivering health information, including the Faith Health Alliance, HAIR Wellness Warriors, Health Champions. SHC has also developed two initiatives, Diabetes Working Group and Equity Task Force and the Faith Health Alliance Advocacy Council to connect pharmaceutical companies with community leaders.

“Dr. Laura Lee Hall has been a tremendous and integral part of the work we do at the National Minority Quality Forum”, said Dr. Gary A. Puckrein, President and CEO of National Minority Quality Forum. “We are grateful for her contributions to the reduction of risk for minoritized patients and her continued commitment to educating health care providers and community leaders to this cause. As President Emeritus, we are looking forward to her continued advisement on SHC’s work as Anna Norton steps into the role as President.”

As the incoming President of SHC, Anna Norton will oversee SHC’s clinical and community-based programs, including the DRIVE quality improvement education program, the Faith Health Alliance, HAIR Wellness Warriors, and Community Pharmacists Ambassadors program, along with the Health Champions program. She will work collaboratively with NMQFs centers to continue to deliver equitable health care programs to minoritized communities in various health areas including diabetes, cancer, and lupus. SHC’s efforts will continue to focus on health promotion, disease prevention, and chronic disease management.

“I am grateful for the time that I have been able to dedicate to SHC and to advancing the health of people in minoritized communities. I look forward to taking on the new role of President Emeritus,” said Dr. Laura Lee Hall, President Emeritus of the Center for Sustainable Health Care Quality and Equity at National Minority Quality Forum. “As Anna steps into her new role as President, I am excited to see the direction she takes to expand SHC’s work with industry executives, clinicians and community leaders. I expect that SHC will reach new heights under Anna’s more-than-capable leadership.”

Anna previously served as VP Community Engagement at SHC, and prior to joining the team at NMQF she served as the Chief Executive Officer of DiabetesSisters, the only national organization focusing exclusively on the improvement of the health and quality of life of women living with and at risk of diabetes. In that role, she was able to develop diverse programming to reach women of color with vital information about diabetes, and put opportunities in place to drive research and collaboration in diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease and establish new relationships with relevant partners. 

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About National Minority Quality Forum
The National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit research and advocacy organization based in Washington, DC. The mission of NMQF is to reduce patient risk by assuring optimal care for all. NMQF’s vision is an American health services research, delivery and financing system whose operating principle is to reduce patient risk for amenable morbidity and mortality while improving quality of life. For more information, please visit www.nmqf.org. 

About Center for Sustainable Health Care Quality and Equity

The Center for Sustainable Health Care Quality and Equity promotes sustainable healthy communities, especially those with diverse and underserved populations, through the provision of actionable data, research, and engagement of clinicians and community leaders. For more information, please visit www.nmqf-shc.org.