> Real World Quality: Benjamin Harris

> Consumer Perspective: Anna Fowlkes

"It impacts us, it is as simple as that," says Anna Fowlkes. "Providers often have their own perspective of what consumers need, which may not fit for all consumers."

 In her work as a consumer advocate and HIV prevention educator in the Baltimore area, Anna represents multiple perspectives. Diagnosed at age 59, she often does outreach to older populations. She also brings the perspective of an African American woman living with HIV. "With HIV, people are always fighting stigma," says Anna. "I tell people that they need to talk about their status since that is the only way they can communicate their needs and the needs of other consumers to providers."

 Anna's main focus is educational outreach. She regularly speaks at public events and urges people to get tested. And, she is quite convincing. She has spoken at several senior centers and organizers report running out of test kits due to demand. In addition to her work as an educator, Anna has served on the Greater Baltimore City HIV and Health Services Planning Council for three years and is part of a working group formed by the Baltimore City Health Department to develop a social media campaign for the newly diagnosed.

 Anna attended the NQC's Training of Consumers for Quality workshop, which was held in spring 2012. While the training increased her knowledge of HIV and helped her develop important skills, she reports that the connections she made with other consumers have been invaluable in her work. She has remained in regular contact with several other participants and gets their input on various projects. For example, she gained feedback from her NQC peers on the social media tool for the newly diagnosed, which helped to shape the content of the messages.

 "I speak with them almost on a weekly basis," says Anna about her ongoing contact with other consumers she met through NQC. "Not only does it provide me with support but I draw on their knowledge and experiences. I can bring their perspectives to my work."

Maria recently joined the NQC as a Quality Improvement Coach to grantees in Puerto Rico. With an MBA from the University of Puerto Rico, she has over 26 years of executive level experience in the public health field in Puerto Rico and US. Her expertise in administration of primary health care programs, finance, human resources, quality of care assessment, practice management systems, and electronic health records configuration and implementation provides additional in-depths knowledge to integrate quality efforts throughout an organization using the available information technology. Maria is passionate about integrating quality improvement programs and performance measurement with the strategic vision of the organization.

 Maria has been a consultant to HRSA with the Bureau of Primary Health Care and HAB for over 20 years-performing operational assessments and providing leadership/management training/coaching-focused technical assistance site visits. In Puerto Rico she is the leading consultant with the Primary Care Association providing specific technical assistance/coaching to primary care grantees to achieve Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) recognition by NCQA. She is current with critical core and emerging issues in the health care industry at the local and national level, and has served as trainer and instructor on financial matters, managed care, Bureau of Primary Health Care program requirements, UDS Reporting, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid's Meaningful Use.

 Recientemente María se unió a NQC como el Consultor de Mejoramiento de Calidad para los recipientes de fondos en Puerto Rico. Con un MBA de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, María tiene más de 26 años de experiencia a nivel ejecutivo en el campo de la salud pública en Puerto Rico y EEUU. Su experiencia en administración de programas de salud primarios, finanzas, recursos humanos, evaluación de la calidad, sistemas de información y en la configuración e implementación de sistemas de récord médico electrónicos le provee una perspectiva profunda adicional para integrar los esfuerzos de calidad a través de la organización utilizando los sistemas de información disponibles. A María le apasiona el integrar los programas de mejoramiento de la calidad y de medición de ejecutoria con la visión estratégica de la organización.