Appointment of Dr. Sally Bachman as Director, Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health (CISWH)
From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
and Dr. Gail Steketee, Dean of the School of Social Work
We are delighted to announce that following a national-level search, Dr. Sara S. (Sally) Bachman has been appointed as the inaugural Director of the Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health (CISWH), effective immediately. As the Director of the Center, Dr. Bachman will also be the initial holder of the Paul Farmer Professorship. Dr. Bachman has joint appointments as a Professor in the Boston University School of Social Work and as a Research Professor of Health Law, Policy & Management in the School of Public Health.
Founded by a generous gift to the endowment from an anonymous donor, the mission of the Boston University CISWH is to expand the impact of social work and social workers in healthcare delivery, public health, and global health in order to reduce costs, improve outcomes, improve patient experience, promote population health, and stimulate health equity nationally and globally. The interdisciplinary Center is overseen by the School of Social Work and reports to the Dean of the School of Social Work. Working in partnership with public health, medicine, health economics, technology, and other relevant disciplines, the Center promotes social work leadership in health through inter-professional and trans-disciplinary collaboration. The Center accomplishes its mission through outcomes-oriented research, community partnerships, policy development, education, and training activities. The CISWH will foster robust collaborations among Boston University’s faculty, particularly involving those in the Schools of Social Work and Public Health.
Dr. Bachman brings extensive experience in social welfare and health policy research and is a national expert on health care financing and organization focusing on alternative payment systems. She has over 25 years of experience with health policy research and program evaluation, and has published on health care finance, health reform, social work, state health policy for individuals with disabilities or complex health, and social conditions, including children with special health care needs. She is currently the principal investigator on two major projects funded by the national Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): one supporting the Catalyst Center, the national center on financing health care for children and youth with special health care needs; and a second study, Improving Access to Care: Using Community Health Workers to Improve Linkage and Retention in HIV Care. Dr. Bachman has co-led several major research projects including a federally funded evaluation and support center for 15 national sites providing oral health care services for people with HIV/AIDS, as well as studies of health care coverage and financing including the Massachusetts health reform initiative. She has worked extensively with state policymakers providing related research, policy analysis, and technical assistance.
Dr. Bachman has previously served as Director of the Ph.D. program and Chair of the Research Department at the BU School of Social Work, as well as Chair of the Institutional Review Board of Boston University’s Charles River Campus for the past 6 years. She received her Ph.D. from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University where she was a Pew Health Policy Scholar. As Interim Director of the CISWH since 2015, Dr. Bachman convened seven learning communities led by BU social work and public health faculty who engaged over 75 transdisciplinary experts to explore and extend the impact of social work and health in multiple domains, including education, communications, policy, community, and global health. A series of papers that resulted from the activities of these learning communities is now under review for a special issue of the American Journal of Public Health. Through these activities, it is evident that Dr. Bachman has already begun to lay the foundation for the long-term success of the CISWH.
We thank the members of the search committee for their contributions to this important effort that resulted in Dr. Bachman’s permanent appointment. The Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health has tremendous potential for affirming the importance of the discipline of social work in the health care delivery system and for solidifying Boston University’s leadership in this arena. We are excited for the Center to fulfill its promise under Sally Bachman’s direction – please join us in congratulating her on her appointment.