Constance van Eeghen
Associate Professor
PRONOUNS She/Her
Given Building, 4th floor, C415
89 Beaumont Ave
Burlington, VT 05454
United States
- Smith College, Northampton MA
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill NC
Department of Medicine, Larner College of Medicine
Northeast Rural Health Research Center
Area(s) of expertise
Implementation Science
Patient-centered, outcomes research
Mixed-methods Research
Practice-Based Research Network collaboration
BIO
Connie van Eeghen, DrPH, MHSA, MBA, is Associate Professor in the Division of Public Health, Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont and a Practice-Based Researcher certified by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Centers of Excellence. As a mixed methods, implementation scientist, her research, teaching and service work focuses on health services and stakeholder engagement in research, quality improvement, and organizational change in health care.
Dr. van Eeghen has a 25-year history in helping front-line health care providers and staff redesign processes. She has educated health care professionals in quality improvement, strategic planning, and the use of the Toyota Production System concepts and methods known as “Lean.” She facilitates health care teams in structured improvement processes and has authored three “Implementation Toolkits” that change primary care processes to improve patient outcomes: behavioral health integration, opioid prescription management, and hypertension. She is a published author in the transformation of primary care practices integrating behavioral health and in evaluation of health care education programs on interprofessional, team-based care related to screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment.
Organizations that Dr. van Eeghen has assisted include academic health centers, state universities, mid-size community hospitals, multi-group physician offices, non-profit education organizations, specialty multi-office practices, psychiatric rehabilitation centers, skilled nursing facilities, and critical access hospitals. She has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute of Mental Health, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and from private funders. She is the Principal Investigator (PI)/Project Lead of a PCORI funded award for building capacity in multi-stakeholder engagement and the PI of record for the PCORI Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care project, currently conducting per protocol analyses to evaluate the components of the intervention, a structured toolkit to improve IBH in primary care.
Courses
Quality in Healthcare
From Cell to Society
Publications
Please click here to access publications via PubMed
Awards and Achievements
1984 - Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society
- Achieved high academic performance in University of Michigan MBA Program
- Led organizational patient-centered redesign efforts (Planetree™)
1999 - President’s Award, Copley Hospital
2008-2012 - Faculty Scholar in Clinical and Translational Science, Center for Clinical and Translational Science, University of Vermont College of Medicine
- Invited to join trans-disciplinary group of academic scholars to move knowledge into the field
2011-2014 - Jeffords Fellowship, James M. Jeffords Center for Policy Research, University of Vermont
- Invited to join strategic efforts to move knowledge into policy communications
- Selected for participation in a peer community of educators to improve and support skill development
2016-Current - Member of the Larner College of Medicine Teaching Academy
2018 & 2019 - Nominated for the Department of Medicine Quality Scholarship Award in the Larner College of Medicine; one of five nominees
2020 - Department of Medicine Quality Scholarship Award
2021 - Engagement Award Digest, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. “Spotlight on University of Vermont & State Agricultural College – Project: A PCOR/CER Partnering Guide,” Washington, DC.
2023 - 2016 article “Integrating behavioral health in primary care using lean workflow analysis: a case study,” J Am Board Fam Med. 2016;29(3):385-93. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2016.03.150186. PMID: 27170796 selected by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for their systematic review on “Strategies for Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care: A Hybrid Review” 2023 draft report.
2023 - 2023 article “A Cluster Randomized Trial of Primary Care Practice Redesign to Integrate Behavioral Health for Those Who Need It Most: Patients With Multiple Chronic Conditions” selected by Annals of Family Medicine for discussion in follow-up issues. Click here to access the publication.
2024 - Nominated for the Larner College of Medicine Excellence in Research Award; one of two nominees
Bio
Connie van Eeghen, DrPH, MHSA, MBA, is Associate Professor in the Division of Public Health, Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont and a Practice-Based Researcher certified by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Centers of Excellence. As a mixed methods, implementation scientist, her research, teaching and service work focuses on health services and stakeholder engagement in research, quality improvement, and organizational change in health care.
Dr. van Eeghen has a 25-year history in helping front-line health care providers and staff redesign processes. She has educated health care professionals in quality improvement, strategic planning, and the use of the Toyota Production System concepts and methods known as “Lean.” She facilitates health care teams in structured improvement processes and has authored three “Implementation Toolkits” that change primary care processes to improve patient outcomes: behavioral health integration, opioid prescription management, and hypertension. She is a published author in the transformation of primary care practices integrating behavioral health and in evaluation of health care education programs on interprofessional, team-based care related to screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment.
Organizations that Dr. van Eeghen has assisted include academic health centers, state universities, mid-size community hospitals, multi-group physician offices, non-profit education organizations, specialty multi-office practices, psychiatric rehabilitation centers, skilled nursing facilities, and critical access hospitals. She has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute of Mental Health, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and from private funders. She is the Principal Investigator (PI)/Project Lead of a PCORI funded award for building capacity in multi-stakeholder engagement and the PI of record for the PCORI Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care project, currently conducting per protocol analyses to evaluate the components of the intervention, a structured toolkit to improve IBH in primary care.
Courses
Quality in Healthcare
From Cell to Society
Publications
Awards and Achievements
1984 - Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society
- Achieved high academic performance in University of Michigan MBA Program
- Led organizational patient-centered redesign efforts (Planetree™)
1999 - President’s Award, Copley Hospital
2008-2012 - Faculty Scholar in Clinical and Translational Science, Center for Clinical and Translational Science, University of Vermont College of Medicine
- Invited to join trans-disciplinary group of academic scholars to move knowledge into the field
2011-2014 - Jeffords Fellowship, James M. Jeffords Center for Policy Research, University of Vermont
- Invited to join strategic efforts to move knowledge into policy communications
- Selected for participation in a peer community of educators to improve and support skill development
2016-Current - Member of the Larner College of Medicine Teaching Academy
2018 & 2019 - Nominated for the Department of Medicine Quality Scholarship Award in the Larner College of Medicine; one of five nominees
2020 - Department of Medicine Quality Scholarship Award
2021 - Engagement Award Digest, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. “Spotlight on University of Vermont & State Agricultural College – Project: A PCOR/CER Partnering Guide,” Washington, DC.
2023 - 2016 article “Integrating behavioral health in primary care using lean workflow analysis: a case study,” J Am Board Fam Med. 2016;29(3):385-93. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2016.03.150186. PMID: 27170796 selected by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for their systematic review on “Strategies for Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care: A Hybrid Review” 2023 draft report.
2023 - 2023 article “A Cluster Randomized Trial of Primary Care Practice Redesign to Integrate Behavioral Health for Those Who Need It Most: Patients With Multiple Chronic Conditions” selected by Annals of Family Medicine for discussion in follow-up issues. Click here to access the publication.
2024 - Nominated for the Larner College of Medicine Excellence in Research Award; one of two nominees