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Categories News Tags Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Communications & Outreach, Conference Services, Contracts, Data Analytics, Data Validation and Administrative Contract (DVAC), Health, Quality Improvement, Special Populations

Bizzell Awarded $34m CMS Contract to Improve Quality of Healthcare Programs

Bizzell Awarded $34m CMS Contract to Improve Quality of Healthcare Programs

September 30, 2019 (Lanham, MD)— The Bizzell Group (Bizzell), one of the fastest growing health services and strategic management consulting firms, was selected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to lead the Data Validation and Administrative Contract (formerly known as the National Administrative Support). Bizzell will provide a broad range of healthcare quality improvement services involving support of the national data-driven initiatives to optimize health outcomes for persons and families while supporting clinicians, providers, and communities in improving health and healthcare of the population they serve.

Under the new contract, Bizzell will assume ownership of several task orders, providing support in data analytics, information technology, meeting planning, and communications. By assisting healthcare providers with quality improvement activities, Bizzell seeks to drive decreases in hospital admissions and readmissions, healthcare-associated infections (HAI), hospital-acquired conditions (HAC), adverse drug events (ADE), improvements in management of chronic diseases, and improvements in nursing home care quality.

“We are excited for the opportunity to continue working with CMS to build upon the foundation of the quality improvement programs and networks. We hope to help raise the standard of care administered across communities currently supported by CMS stakeholders”, says Dr. Anton C. Bizzell, President & CEO of The Bizzell Group.

CMS, through the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality’s (CCSQ) – Quality Improvement and Innovation Group (QIIG) has executed federally-mandated contracts to improve quality in a wide variety of settings through its Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) program and End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network contracts. More recently, CMS has led quality improvement contracts with other organizations focused on specific networks of providers, including its Hospital Innovation and Improvement Networks (HIINs) and Transforming Clinical Practices Initiative (TCPi). Collectively, these organizations are accountable for providing technical assistance for quality improvement to healthcare delivery organizations including hospitals, nursing homes, primary and specialty care practices serving both large and small, rural and medically underserved communities. In achieving this work nationally, CMS has provided support to national contracts to facilitate achievement of the program aims.

About Bizzell

Established in 2010, The Bizzell Group (Bizzell) is a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) certified strategy, consulting and technology firm that specializes in program management, administrative support, communication & outreach, conference management & logistical support, health services & research, technical assistance, as well as training & development. Bizzell’s expert staff and consultants work on health, scientific, education, environment, research, and information technology projects that meet national priorities.

Under the leadership and vision of founder, Anton C. Bizzell, MD, the company has grown from a staff of two in one small office, to a thriving firm with three offices in Lanham, MD, Rockville, MD, and Atlanta, GA with ongoing projects across the world.

Categories Global Development, HIV/AIDS, News Tags Administrative Support, Communications & Outreach, Conference Services, Global Development, Health, Infectious Disease, Special Populations, Thought Leadership

World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day

Lisa Black – November 30, 2018

December 1, 2018 is World AIDS Day.  This year’s federal theme is “Saving Lives through Leadership and Partnership.”  HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is a serious public health crisis.  According to (UNAIDS) the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, there were approximately 36.9 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS in 2017; 1.8 million are children who are under the age of 15.  In 2017, an estimated 1.8 million individuals worldwide became newly infected with HIV—nearly 5000 new infections per day.  This includes 180,000 children, most of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa and were infected by their HIV-positive mothers during pregnancy (mother-to-child transmission) or during breastfeeding.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, pregnant women and their babies are at risk because:  

  • Pregnant women with HIV may not know they are infected, and women may not know that their partner has HIV.
  • Preconception care and family planning services are often not provided in HIV care settings.
  • Women living with HIV may not know they are pregnant, how to prevent or safely plan a pregnancy, or what they can do to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to their baby.
  • The risk of transmitting HIV to the baby is much higher if the mother does not stay on HIV treatment throughout pregnancy, labor, or delivery, or if HIV medicine is not provided to her baby. The risk is also higher if the mother acquires HIV during pregnancy. 
  • Social and economic factors, especially poverty, may make it harder for some women living with HIV to access health care.

In recognition of World AIDS Day, we are dedicated to, “Saving Lives through Leadership and Partnerships.”    

The Bizzell Group (Bizzell) is committed to improving global health and we recognize that economic growth of nations.  It is our mission to provide quality research, education, training, and technical assistance related to this worldwide public health crisis.  We are a leader in partnering to set global standards for HIV prevention, the care and treatment of pregnant women, prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission; and the development of evidence-based strategies and global health initiatives.

Bizzell offers full-scale global and social impact assessments.  Our team members and subject matter experts have vast experience in addressing global health disparities, with an emphasis on improving worldwide health conditions by using data-driven strategies.  We offer expert support in the monitoring, evaluation, and learning framework; program and knowledge management; technology solutions; logistics; environmental scans; baseline studies; needs assessments; program development and implementation; and compliance and program auditing.

Bizzell has supported programs across the globe.  We are committed to improving global health conditions by offering our expertise and cadre of subject matter experts to identify and address health disparities.  Our goal is to find sustainable solutions to intractable international problems by supporting agencies, organizations, or other governing bodies who are equally committed to making a positive global impact.  Bizzell staff has previously managed programs in Africa including Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, and worked in Asia, including Thailand, has supported programs in Europe, and provided expert support in Haiti and the Pacific Islands.  Under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Bizzell staff worked to improve global health and reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS. Bizzell staff has also provided proposal development, and programmatic and administrative support for the Military Malaria Research Program, which supports the development of a vaccine and drugs to treat malaria.

The Bizzell team oversaw the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) Global AIDS Program that established technical and financial infrastructure systems for the Global AIDS Program’s (GAP).  Bizzell supported the GAP missions in Ethiopia and Malawi by developing protocols for establishing and sustaining relationships between U.S. entities and local organizations, such as the Ministry of Health (MoH), military, local schools, and hospitals. This included developing, designing, and implementing administrative systems within the Office of the Chief of Party, including procurement, budget, and personnel systems.  The Bizzell team also established and implemented monitoring and evaluation systems, including evidence- based trainings to support effective public health programs for HIV/AIDS, TB and STI in Ethiopia, and facilitated linkages to other in-country programs and organizations for sharing of monitoring and evaluation data.

Bizzell; “Saving Lives through Leadership and Partnerships.”

Categories Global Development, Tobacco Tags Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Communications & Outreach, Conference Services, Global, Global Development, Health, National Cancer Institute (NCI), Thought Leadership

17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health

17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health

Project Director Jenny Twesten traveled to Cape Town, South Africa to represent the National Cancer Institute’s Tobacco Control Research Branch at WCTOH held March 6-9, 2018. This international conference drew participants from around the world, with a particularly strong presence from those across Africa, an area where prevalence of cigarette smoking is on the rise and expected to continue to do so without strong tobacco control interventions. The Bizzell Group (Bizzell) supported meeting logistics for a pre-conference workshop entitled “Research to Inform the Development and Implementation of Tobacco Control Policies and Intervention” that was attended by at least 53 people from 23 different countries.

Bizzell also coordinated the NCI presence in the exhibit hall in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which nearly ran out of materials within 4 hours of the exhibit hall opening. In addition to attending sessions on electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), economic and social costs of tobacco among women, tools for monitoring tobacco use, and ending the tobacco epidemic, Jenny presented on the Africa literature review that she and Katie Cleffi have been working on with NCI and met with various organizations and experts to discuss collaboration opportunities with NCI. The abstract presented has been published in a special supplement of Tobacco Induced Diseases. She will be presenting along with the other NCI delegates at an upcoming seminar on April 17 hosted by the NCI Center for Global Health to share insights from their WCTOH attendance.

Categories Insights, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Substance Use Disorder Tags Conference Services, Contacts, Health, Technical Assistance & Training

International Overdose Awareness Day

The Bizzell Group Supports International Overdose Awareness Day

Lanham, MD – The Bizzell Group (Bizzell) – International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event held on August 31st each year and aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths. It also acknowledges the grief felt by families and friends remembering those who have met with death or permanent injury because of drug overdose.

Opioid addiction is a problem with far reaching costs to individuals, families, communities, and to society. According to the American Society for Addiction Medicine, drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, with 52,404 lethal drug overdoses in 2015.  Opioid addiction is driving this epidemic, with 20,101 overdose deaths related to prescription pain relievers, and 12,990 overdose deaths related to heroin in 2015. The government’s annual drug death statistics for 2016 will not be available until the late 2017, but experts predict sharp increases driven by the worsening opioid crisis.

Bizzell’s work includes projects that support the treatment of addiction, drug use, drug misuse, and overdose.  Through the firm’s work with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Bizzell offers workforce competency efforts for pain management and addiction professionals with the development and implementation of multifaceted initiatives and strategies to address opioid use disorder and related conditions.

Bizzell also offers training for medical and other professionals through a 7-hour workshop, Effective Use of Medication Assisted Treatment in an Opioid Dependent Population. The goal of the training is to provide the clinical and administrative staff of opioid treatment programs (OTPs) with up-to-date information and guidance in the treatment of opioid use disorders, including the effective use of the currently approved medications, such as methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone.

“The devastating role that addiction and substance use disorders play in our society cannot be overstated. If you are not personally affected by alcohol, tobacco, prescription drugs containing opiates or other drugs, then I’m certain that you know someone who is. Substance use disorders do not discriminate; no demographic or group is immune or exempt from it. It affects us all.”

– Dr. Anton Bizzell, President and CEO


International Overdose Awareness Day will be marked throughout the world with various public events and presentations. In Washington, D.C., Dr. Nzinga Harrison’s lecture Your Community. Your Conversation, will take place at Howard University Hospital Tower Auditorium, 2041 Georgia Ave NW, from 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm on Thursday, August 31st.

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