Gail M. Amundson, MD, FACP

President and CEO

Email: gamundson@qualityquest.org

"Measuring and reporting health care information is critically important because what gets measured, gets improved."—Dr. Gail Amundson

As President and CEO of Quality Quest for Health of Illinois, Gail Amundson, MD, FACP, leads its mission to achieve exceptional patient service and outcomes by serving as a catalyst for healthcare transformation. A healthcare collaborative for the state of Illinois, Quest is focused on healthy people and high value healthcare.

Poised for dramatic change, healthcare needs a strong foundation of evidence-based care standards, measurement, reporting of performance and clinician leadership. Quality Quest for Health of Illinois is committed to working jointly with clinicians, employers, payers and patients to affect lasting, healing change in healthcare.

Dr. Amundson is a recognized leader and innovator. She served as HealthPartners Medical Director for Quality, Measurement and Provider Incentives, where she was effective working with and motivating physicians throughout Minnesota to improve patient outcomes. Her pioneering measurement work is endorsed in the Institute of Medicine Report Performance Measurement: Accelerating Improvement. Her program won The National Quality Forum prestigious 2007 NQF Healthcare Quality Award and The National Business Group on Health 2006 Award for Excellence and Innovation in Value Purchasing. Dr. Amundson is a principle founder of MN Community Measurement, a statewide collaborative reporting quality information of provider groups (http://www.mnhealthcare.org/). She served as co-chair of the Minnesota Bridges to Excellence Guiding Coalition and received the inaugural Minnesota Community Measurement 2007 Quality Measurement Leadership Award.

Dr. Amundson is board certified in internal medicine and holds a certificate of added proficiency in geriatrics. She serves on the National Quality Forum (NQF) Consensus Standards Approval Committee, the American College of Physicians Subcommittee on Performance Measurement, and the NQF Composite Measures Steering Committee. She has served on committees for the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Committee for Quality Assurance, the Joint Commission, the American Medical Association Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement, and the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund. Dr. Amundson is a sought-after public speaker on healthcare transformation, measurement, public reporting and provider incentives. She is a fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Education

Bachelor of Arts in Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Doctor of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Madison
Internship at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis, Minn.
Residency at University of Minnesota Hospitals and Clinics, Minneapolis, Minn.

Richard Luetkemeyer, MD

Medical Director of Population Health

Email: Luetkemeyer_Richard_C@cat.com

Dr. Rick Luetkemeyer is the Medical Director of Population Health at Quality Quest for Health of Illinois. He is also Assistant Medical Director at Caterpillar Inc. and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria.

Dr. Luetkemeyer served as acting chair of the Department of Medicine at the U of I College of Medicine at Peoria for two years prior to his work at Caterpillar Inc. At the College of Medicine, he served on several committees including the Executive Committee, Committee on Instruction, and Committee on Research. He received the Harry Warren Teaching Award, the Raymond B. Allen Instructorship Award, and Faculty of the Year Award. Dr. Luetkemeyer also served as chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and as program director of the Internal Medicine Residency.

Dr. Luetkemeyer received his medical degree from Loyola-Stritch School of Medicine and completed his internship and internal medicine residency at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. He is a member of the American College of Physicians.

Julie Gray

Communications Manager

Phone: 309-282-8825
Email: jgray@qualityquest.org

Julie Gray is the Communications Manager, with responsibility for overall marketing strategy, brand awareness and internal/external communications. Gray has more than 20 years of experience in the communications arena and most recently ran her own business, Publicity Pro. She provided services to clients in the areas of promotions strategy, publicity campaigns, media relations, public relations services, marketing services, advertising, creative copywriting and event planning.

Gray has extensive experience in healthcare public relations and event promotion. She started the Community Relations Office at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria in 1990 and the Office of Continuing Medical Education in 1994, and worked at the College for eight years. Prior to that, she was the public relations coordinator at the Community Hospital of Ottawa.

Gray received a BS degree in Mass Communications from Illinois State University. She is a member of the Public Relations Association and founded a networking group for freelance communications professionals in 2000 called SPARK Freelance.

Cheryl Toland

Program Manager

Phone: 309-282-8822
Email: ctoland@qualityquest.org

Cheryl Toland is the Program Manager and 6 Sigma Black Belt, with responsibility for overseeing the Quest Team projects. Toland has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, both clinical and administrative. She has worked at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Proctor Hospital, and University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. In addition, she has extensive experience in office, business and sales management, as well as community business development. Toland has conducted event planning at the national level and is an Illinois licensed commercial real estate agent.

Toland has been involved in many community organizations including Committee Chairperson of the Children's Hospital Telethon, TEC and Cursillo Program, FHL Prison Ministry, Easter Seals VIP, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Peoria Opera League, and Common Place Vietnamese Tutor Project. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the Peoria Art Guild and YWCA.

Toland is a graduate of Illinois Central College and attended the University of Illinois Business Management Program.

Seema Alikhan

Director, Information Technology & Reporting

Phone: 309-282-8824
Email: salikhan@qualityquest.org

Seema Alikhan is the Director of Information Technology & Reporting, with responsibility for leading the organization's information and reporting program.

Alikhan has more than 12 years of IT industry experience in project management, systems analysis, and design and development. She most recently worked as the IT Manager for Modis Consulting, where she managed a team of project managers, senior software engineers, graphic designers, and quality assurance engineers to develop solutions for Fortune 500 companies such as Halliburton, Northrop Grumman, Chrysler and Bank One. She also has experience in the healthcare arena, working for both United Healthcare and Bock Pharmaceuticals as a software engineer.

Alikhan received a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from Karachi University. She attended Lindenwood University in Missouri and has accrued several hours toward the Master of Business Administration (Major MIS) degree. She also has advanced certifications in computer science, IT project management and system development.

Christy Wilkins

Finance Manager

Phone: 309-282-8826
Email: cwilkins@qualityquest.org

Christy Wilkins is the Finance Manager at Quality Quest for Health of Illinois, with responsibility for oversight of Quest's financial and HR processes, as well as business operations, grant management and vendor relationships.

Wilkins brings 12 years of experience as a small-business-owner and founder of Persnickety Clean, LLC, where she manages business development, human resources, finance and overall operations. In addition, she has nine years of experience in the legal field where she worked for Exxon Litigation Services in Houston, Texas, and Anchorage, Ala. As corporate paralegal for L.R. Nelson, she managed the key areas of intellectual property, litigation, contracts, negotiations, claims and budget planning. During her service at L.R. Nelson, she was appointed corporate representative and liaison for legal matters.

Wilkins studied business administration at the University of Houston and continued her education in the ABA Paralegal program at Illinois Central College. She is a licensed Realtor in the state of Illinois and a member of the Peoria Area Referral Network. Her community involvement includes Women in Leadership, NAWBO, Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, and serving as new member co-chair and fundraising co-chair for the Junior League of Peoria. She volunteers for Dunlap School District and teaches at St. Jude Church.

Angie Griffith

Administrative Assistant

Phone: 309-282-8821
Email: agriffith@qualityquest.org

Angie Griffith is the administrative assistant to Dr. Gail Amundson and provides staff support at Quality Quest for Health of Illinois Griffith most recently worked as an administrative assistant at Allied Capital in Washington, D.C., where she managed regulatory and compliance reporting processes for SEC filings, organized annual lender meetings, managed private jets for all national offices, and assisted in managing the employee stock option plan. She previously worked at Beers & Cutler, PLLC in the area of employee relations, assisting in the development and training coordination of the firm's Continuing Professional Education curriculum.

Griffith received a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from Indiana University. She is an active volunteer with the Easter Seals Auxiliary and serves as Secretary of the Board for the Newcomer's Club of Peoria.

Joy Duling

HIE Project Manager

Phone: 309-282-8829
Email: joy@qqhie.com

Joy Duling is the HIE Project Manager, with responsibility for oversight of the Health Information Exchange (HIE) Planning Grants from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

Duling brings more than 10 years of experience as a Program Manager for the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), where she served as the key point of contact for the Best Practice/SACWIS Implementation Project and was responsible for maintaining focus on the project status, priorities and needs. Duling also served as a Program Manager for the Office of Research and Development, where she was responsible for key projects with emphasis on using data systems to improve operations.

Duling has served as primary author for a number of reports and publications. She received the Ronald W. Reagan Fellowship for demonstrated leadership and academic success. Duling is also currently the Managing Director of A 25 Hour Day, LLC. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Eureka College and her Master of Social Work, specializing in Policy, Planning and Administration, from the University of Illinois.

Viktor Schrader

Graduate Fellow

Phone: 309-282-8828
Email: vschrader@qualityquest.org

Viktor Schrader joins Quest as a Graduate Fellow from Illinois State University, where he is obtaining his M.S. degree in Applied Economics and Applied Community and Economic Development. Schrader will co-lead for the Healthy Lifestyles Team and will assist with IT development.

Schrader's experience includes working as a Graduate Assistant and AmeriCorps Member in the Uptown Renewal Office in the Town of Normal. While there, he assisted with project management operations related to the Uptown Renewal Project. Schrader also worked as a Finance Analyst at BBN Technologies in Cambridge, Mass.

Schrader received his B.A. in Organizational Communication from Northeastern University in Boston and was a volunteer for the United States Peace Corps in Samoa.