Cecil R. Pollard, MA

I currently work with the development and implementation of the West Virginia University PBRN in the WVCTSI. In that role, I help recruit and orient community-based practices to the PBRN.  In addition, I assist in the development of common patient databases extracted from a variety of EHR's to create resources for faculty and community researchers, assist in identifying research opportunities and to facilitate academic and

community research. I have been the Director of the Office of Health Services Research for the past 30 years. In that position I have had an opportunity to collaborate with communities, community health care facilities, public health and other service agencies and organizations both locally, regionally and internationally.  My primary interest has been to assist providers in improving health care delivery and to improve patient outcomes. I have been supported over the years by a variety of private foundations and public funders from state, local and international organizations. Over the years I have helped to develop several on-going databases to assist researchers in their efforts. These databases include: West Virginia Chronic Disease Registry, WV Birth Score Registry, and the Uniform Billing-92 database.  I have successfully merged administrative data and vital statistics data at the state level to perform program evaluation. I also participated in a CDC Expert Panel on Chronic Disease Registries.  I think my expertise in database design and management will be a tremendous asset for researchers and practitioners in West Virginia and Kentucky.