Health care costs got you down? Decreasing spending and improving health care quality and outcomes – the goal of the Accountable Care Organization model – were among the health care reform issues discussed by special guest speaker Governor Howard Dean when he spoke to an overflow crowd on Thursday, April 25 at 6 p.m. as part of the Spring 2013 Community Medical School series. This free public lecture program, presented jointly by the UVM College of Medicine and Fletcher Allen Health Care, continues on Tuesday April 30, and May 7 and 14. Lectures take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Carpenter Auditorium in the Given Building at the UVM College of Medicine and include a Q&A session following each presentation.

Spring 2013 lecture dates, topics and speakers still to come include:

• April 30, “Hot Off the Press: The Latest News in Menopause” by Zaher Merhi, M.D., Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
• May 7, “My Regeneration: Using Stem Cells to Repair the Heart,” by William Hopkins, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, and Jeffrey Spees, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine and Director, Stem Cell Core
• May 14, “Cancer and Exercise: Improving Physical Function and Cardiopulmonary Health During and After Treatment” by Kim Dittus, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, and Susan Lakoski, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine

To register, or for more information, visit the Community Medical School website or call 802-847-2886.