The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) has appointed Stephen A. Martin Jr., Ph.D., M.P.H., as chief executive officer. Martin brings health care administration, delivery and accrediting experience to AAAHC as he replaces retiring CEO John Burke.
“Dr. Martin has the energy and enthusiasm to help us improve health care quality through accreditation, and the ability to embrace and drive change for the betterment of AAAHC,” said AAAHC Board Chairman W. Patrick Davey, M.D., MBA. “His branding and marketing expertise will help us take the profile of the organization to the next level.”
Martin has more than 18 combined years of governmental and non-governmental experience in the health care and public health arenas. Most recently he was the executive director of the Association for Community Health Improvement at the American Hospital Association (AHA). He also has served as the chief program officer for the Health Research and Educational Trust/AHA, the health commissioner and chief operating officer for the Cook County Department of Public Health and a senior executive with the Cook County Health and Hospitals System, the third-largest U.S. public health care system.
Martin’s responsibilities at AAAHC will include leading the Institute for Quality Improvement, the organization’s nonprofit subsidiary founded to address the quality improvement requirements of AAAHC accreditation; overseeing the success of the Accreditation Association for Hospitals/Health Systems Inc. (AAHHS), a sister organization to AAAHC dedicated to offering a nationally recognized, consultative accreditation program customized for rural hospitals, critical access hospitals (CAH) and small hospitals with less than 200 beds; and growing the AAAHC International division Acreditas Global.