Meyers Institute turns 25

The Meyers Institute was named in memory of John Meyers, MD, who was a physician leader, a clinician, a scholar—and an accomplished artist. Jerry Gurwitz, MD, is seen here in the Lamar Soutter Library with a sculpture by Dr. Meyers of H. Brownell Wheeler, MD, founding chair of surgery at the Medical School.

Our efforts to study health care in real-world clinical sites, and being able to study very large populations, often in collaboration with other research entities across the United States, have been phenomenal.

Jerry Gurwitz, MD

A quarter century ago, medical education, research and health care systems embraced the vision of primary care. Comprehensive, coordinated care was recognized as a key to healthier communities. The 1990s was also a time of innovative collaboration among health care providers, researchers, business leaders and insurers in Worcester.

In that setting, in July 1996, the Meyers Primary Care Institute was born, a unique joint endeavor among what is now UMass Chan Medical School, Fallon Health and Reliant Medical Group.

Committed to population-based research across the lifespan, the multidisciplinary institute honors the memory of John Meyers, MD, who served as president of Fallon Clinic (now Reliant Medical Group) from 1966 to 1982 and president of Fallon Community Health Plan (now Fallon Health) from 1976 to 1985. Dr. Meyers was highly regarded as a physician leader, a caring clinician, a well-respected scholar—and an accomplished artist.

The Meyers Primary Care Institute turned 25 in July, and along with this milestone, announced that its name would change at the start of 2022 to the Meyers Health Care Institute.

Another big change coming soon: Jerry Gurwitz, MD, the Dr. John Meyers Professor of Primary Care Medicine, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Geriatric Medicine, will step down on May 1, 2022, after more than 25 years as founding executive director of the institute.

“The delivery of health care exists in a continuum, encompassing the community and a range of clinical settings, and extends well beyond what existed 25 years ago,” Dr. Gurwitz said. “Our investigators at the Meyers Health Care Institute focus on ways to improve the health and health care provided to individuals and populations. That involves research efforts that are not singularly focused on primary care. Our new name reflects this expanded, more contemporary focus.”

The Meyers Primary Care Institute turned 25 in July, and along with this milestone, announced that its name would change to the Meyers Health Care Institute in 2022.

While the institute’s scope has expanded, its foundation remains firm. “The same principles hold today: that the health of the community and the health of populations are improved when people have access to high quality primary care,” said Gurwitz.

And while the board of directors has a lot to plan for as it selects a new executive director and outlines a vision for the future, there is plenty to celebrate about the institute's first 25 years.

“There are no other research centers across the entire country that bring together a medical school, a health plan and a medical group in a formal way and with a common mission. UMass Chan Medical School has partnered to create this unique entity with the goal of improving how health care is delivered. That is truly something to be proud of,” he said.

Gurwitz pointed to some of the institute’s research that continues to have an impact on major public health concerns. For example, the institute was involved in the largest clinical trial ever undertaken to determine how to reduce fall-related injuries in older adults, and there are ongoing efforts to address vaccine hesitancy at both the community and national level.

Meyers researchers have performed many studies related to medication safety in populations, including nursing home residents and pregnant women.

“Our efforts to study health care in real-world clinical sites, and being able to study very large populations, often in collaboration with other research entities across the United States, have been phenomenal,” Gurwitz said.

“Under the guidance of Jerry Gurwitz, Meyers has been the vehicle for collaborative research on how medical care impacts people of all ages. This has been enabled by the unique partnership among UMass Chan Medical School, Fallon Health and Reliant Medical Group,” said Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor, executive deputy chancellor, provost and dean of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine. “In the coming years, we anticipate that the work of Meyers will become even more significant, as the aging demographics and increasing diversity of our population create the need for rapid adaptations in health care delivery.”

For Meyers’ researchers, the institute has enhanced their opportunities to learn, grow and make a difference.

“It’s a unique place in terms of connecting with other organizations around the country,” said Kathleen Mazor, EdD, professor of medicine and associate director of the Meyers Health Care Institute. Dr. Mazor and Kimberly Fisher, MD, associate professor of medicine, have been tracking vaccine acceptance since April 2020 and are testing the impact of different messages from health care providers to encourage those who were hesitant to become more willing to be vaccinated.

Mazor said Meyers has added “a whole different level of understanding of health care delivery research and the kind of questions one could ask and answer.”

Meyers has also become an incubator for new researchers, according to Dr. Fisher, a clinician who was interested in doing more research when she teamed up with Mazor and the institute eight years ago.

“I think there are a lot of things that Meyers does that just makes it much more accessible and possible,” Fisher said. “You get connected to networks of people beyond UMass, which is really crucial in doing impactful research. You have this pooled resource of shared expertise.”

Robert Yood, MD, has been affiliated with Meyers Institute since its founding. Dr. Yood serves as treasurer on the board of directors and is medical director of the Research Department at Reliant Medical Group.

“The faculty at Meyers Primary Care Institute contributes to its ongoing success,” said Yood. “And it has turned out to be a lasting memorial to Jack Meyers, who was not only a visionary but a Renaissance man—a sculptor, musician and physician who brought managed care to Central Massachusetts. Fallon Community Health Plan was the first senior Medicare Advantage plan in the country. He made a difference.”

Yood noted the importance of Meyers Institute research, saying it has been “really helpful to organizations like ours, in trying to make sure that we’re providing quality health care with good preventive services.”

One study, which looked at adverse drug events in an ambulatory setting and how they might be prevented, was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and has been cited more than 2,000 times in medical literature. “So that has become a pivotal study in understanding how to improve drug safety for the entire nation,” Yood said.

Yood credited Meyers Primary Care Institute’s success in research and education, in no small part, to Gurwitz’s 25 years at the helm. “He has contributed to UMass through the Meyers Institute and also to geriatrics at Reliant Medical Group through his seeing patients as a geriatrician and, through the studies that he’s done, contributed to the prominence of Fallon Health nationally.”

“The fact that you have a medical school, a provider group and a health plan—very different organizations— working together with unwavering commitment to the work of Meyers is a real testament, not only to Jerry and the whole team for building something that has sustainability, but it also speaks to the kind of community we are,” said Fallon Health President and CEO Richard Burke.

“I think Meyers is kind of a symbol,” he continued. “Worcester is a great community, and you sometimes have rival organizations saying, you know, we need to work together, because it’s the right thing for the community.”

The institute’s name change reflects Meyers’ broader focus on challenges of population health and integration of care, according to Burke. “Everyone talks today about social determinants of health, and the connection between the patient, caregiver and provider,” he said. “I think the organization is very well positioned to contribute scholarly research to those current topics.”

Tarek Elsawy, MD, president and CEO of Reliant Medical Group and president of the Northeast and Midwest regions of Optum, a national network of medical groups and ambulatory care systems, said that the concept of clinical research was “foundational,” but Meyers Health Care Institute goes beyond what others do through its unique model of collaboration.

“I think it really shows that health care is best done in partnership,” Dr. Elsawy said.

Elsawy said he would love to see Meyers’ power of partnering harness greater technology avenues— looking at broader sets of data and artificial intelligence, for example, beyond what might be available within its host institutions.

But, Elsawy summed up, “My favorite thing about Meyers is the fact that it has continued. And I just love the spirit of cooperation that has continued. That, to me, is a wonderful sort of acknowledgment of the richness of the institution.” ■

By Susan E.W. Spencer