Weech-Maldonado at initial CHOT planning meetingThe University of Alabama at Birmingham has been approved by the National Science Foundation as an official site for a Center for Health Organization Transformation. UAB was one of only two universities selected for 2016 and is one of only six CHOT University Sites in the United States.

The UAB CHOT is an industry-university cooperative research center with a focus of developing innovative solutions to issues challenging the U.S. health care system which will be accomplished by working closely with our industry partners as well as multi-disciplinary collaborations across the University including the School of Engineering.

“This furthers the School of Health Professions’ strategy of seeking increased influence in addressing societal problems through partnerships with entities outside of the academic setting,” said UAB School of Health Professions Dean Harold P. Jones, Ph.D. “The CHOT is a perfect example of how our School is able to leverage community partnerships in order to make a significant difference in health care and impact people’s lives.”

Currently the UAB CHOT has five healthcare industry partners:

• Alacare
• HealthSouth
• Lakeshore Foundation
• Our Lady of the Lake Health System
• UAB Health System

“The approval by the NSF is a glowing testament to the strength of our two Schools’ research excellence as well as the commitment and support of our industry partners located across Alabama and Louisiana,” said Robert Weech-Maldonado, Ph.D., co-director of the UAB CHOT, professor and L.R. Jordan Chair of Health Administration. “I am excited to see how much we will accomplish together with this combination of UAB’s academic rigor and the healthcare industry’s access to resources.”

The UAB CHOT, co-directed by Weech-Maldonado and Nancy Borkowski, DBA, professor, UAB Department of Health Services, received approval on July 15, 2016. The next step is to meet with the individual partners to determine immediate priorities for upcoming research projects. Overall, the CHOT is funded by the NSF and other health organizations “to conduct research supporting major management, clinical and information technology innovations in healthcare.”

The other CHOT University Sites are Florida Atlantic University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, Penn State University and Texas A&M University. The University of Louisville and the University of Washington are Prospective University Sites.