Villelli receives IRHA award

Amber Villelli of Kaniksu Health Services was one of six Idaho healthcare professionals to receive an Idaho Rural Health Hero Award at the Idaho Rural Health Association’s annual meeting and awards reception on Oct. 23.

The awards are given to recognize rural health educators, community advocates, healthcare providers and program administrators who demonstrate outstanding service and dedication to rural communities. Nominations described the many contributions of this year’s awardees as advocates, communicators, educators, collaborators and innovators.

Villelli is the chief operations officer and director of clinical quality and performance improvement at Kaniksu Health Services, a federally qualified health center with five clinic locations in the rural northern counties of Idaho

After achieving Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Home status for all five sites, she now mentors other rural clinics on strategies for continuous quality improvement, team-based care, using health information technology for quality improvement, improving the patient experience, and practice transformation.

The nomination noted that Villelli and her team excelled in the Healthy Hearts Northwest Initiative, funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, by identifying and implementing successful QI interventions to improve outcomes for hypertensive patients.

The Idaho Rural Health Association is a nonprofit membership organization that provides leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, communication, education and collaboration. As the recognized voice for rural health issues in Idaho, IRHA offers a forum for health professionals, community members and healthcare organizations to work together to identify and find solutions to rural health problems.

The awards reception was sponsored by Magellan Healthcare’s behavioral health division.

Information: idahorha.org