Stacey Whanger

Background

About Stacey Whanger

In 2009, I received my Master of Public Health from West Virginia University and became the clinical trial research coordinator for a local ophthalmology practice. I performed all clinical tasks, including training staff, scribing, patient work-ups, floor managing, on-call scheduling, and patient navigation. To gain more experience within population health, I worked for and been promoted up through the ranks for the West Virginia Practice-Based Research Network (WVPBRN), a National Institutes of Health-funded program through the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute CTR Award. In 2013, I joined the planning team for the WVPBRN and coordinated the group’s first inaugural meeting. Since then, the network has grown exponentially to 131 clinical sites comprised of over 500 individual members statewide. This network has participated in over 100 quality improvement, implementation science, clinical trials projects, resulting in over 50 practice and policy changes in primary care and around the state. Most recently, in mid-2020, I was asked to serve as project director for the WV Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostic Testing in Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) grants, a $4.78 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This project has successfully provided rapid implementation of testing strategies for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in populations disproportionately affected by the pandemic by enhancing COVID-19 testing among rural primary care offices across West Virginia. Most recently, I have had the pleasure to develop the American Diabetes Association Diabetes Primary Care Alliance, a group of primary care practices and research networks who are early adopters and interesting in working on quality improvement projects in diabetes care delivery techniques. The Alliance is participating in numerous ADA initiatives and programs to drive better health outcomes in diabetes care.