Wendolyn S. Gozansky, MD, MPH

Senior Clinician Investigator & Vice President and Chief Quality Officer

Wendee Gozansky, MD, MPH, is a Senior Clinician Investigator at the Institute for Health Research. Since joining the IHR, Dr. Gozansky has studied collaborative care models for depression management and worked to improve health and healthcare for older adults, in both the community and care delivery setting. Her research focuses on bone health and fracture prevention with an intent to optimize the use of bone mineral density testing to prevent falls and improve adherence to drug therapy for osteoporosis. Additionally, Dr. Gozansky continues to collaborate on studies that seek to improve access to palliative care for ethnic minorities and frail older adults.

Dr. Gozansky graduated from Smith College as a Women's Studies major, received medical and public health degrees from Tufts University School of Medicine, and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Colorado. As a board-certified internist and geriatrician, Dr. Gozansky practices in CPMG Skilled Nursing Facility Rehabilitation Service.

Dr. Gozansky is also the Vice President and Chief Quality Officer for the Colorado Permanente Medical Group (CPMG). She is responsible for the quality improvement and oversight activities of this 1,200+ multispecialty physician group that delivers care to 650,000+ members in the Kaiser Permanente Colorado (KPCO) region.

Selected Research:

  • National Palliative Care Research Center

    • This study employed a pragmatic stepped-wedge design to determine the feasibility of integrating palliative care social workers into the subacute rehabilitation setting for older persons and their caregivers with the goal to improve end-of-life outcomes for seriously ill patients in terms of decreased symptom burden, improved quality of life, and reduced health care utilization.

    • Funder: National Palliative Care Research Center
    • Award End Date: 5/31/19

  • Apoyo con Carino (Support through Caring): Improving Palliative Care Outcomes for Latinos with Advanced Medical Illness

    • This randomized controlled trial evaluated the impact of a palliative care patient navigator intervention for Latino adults with advanced medical illness. Outcomes of interest included rates of advance care planning, pain and symptom control, rates of hospice utilization, and total health care costs.

    • Funder: NIH/NINR
    • Award End Date: 9/30/19